The Legend of Zuko
by UntestedWaters
Summary: What if it all ended differently? What if Team Avatar wasn't completely successful? Would all hope be lost? Or would they be able to bring themselves back together and fight for the world once again? (AU, Warning for character death) Pairings listed will be there throughout the story but it's not the focus. Rated M as a precaution. There will be specific warnings for each chapter.
1. Chapter 1

Greetings all! This is one of my first actual attempts at fan fiction and while most of it was done by me (especially the later chapters), it was co-written with my best friend. General warning: there is some course language and there is character death; later on, there might be some adult themes and romantic stuff. Basically, I'll post a little blurb before each chapter and I'll attempt to update once a week but as most of you probably know, it's way easier to find the motivation to update when you have people pushing you. So review please! Thanks all!

**Chapter: **One  
><strong>Title:<strong> Severed Ties  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T  
><strong>Warning:<strong> There might be some mild language and there's a bit of violence (not very descriptive) but the main thing for this chapter is character death. If you'd like to know which character before reading, shoot me a message.  
><strong>Chapter Summary: <strong>Sozin's Comet comes and Team Avatar splits up to take down the Fire Lord and Azula. It doesn't go exactly as planned.

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><p>There was an eerie feeling that crept up Zuko's spine as he stood, tense and ready, as the wind blew his raven hair out of his eyes. His hands were clenched tightly, fingers digging into his palms. There was a warmth that spread through him, not rage, but instead a clarity of purpose and direction that fueled his strength and mettle.<p>

He raised his chin in challenge and defiance as he stared across the open ground to his opponent, who stood, casual and relaxed. The warm breeze ruffled her perfectly placed hair and Zuko narrowed his good eye as she glanced down at her shoes, feigning uninterest in him.

"Really ZuZu? You're going to fight me? Your own sister?" she said in that flat, cold tone she had so often used with him.

Zuko took a fighting stance. "Yes," he replied, just as frostily.

Azula shrugged one shoulder in acceptance. "Alright then. It'll be your funeral."

There was a placid silence that fell across the dilapidated arena as brother and sister squared off in their match.

The two circled each other with silent footsteps as tension sizzled between them. There was a great deal of open space between them and Zuko mentally absorbed his surroundings, already wondering how he might use them to his advantage.

Aha. Caught you, Azula thought as she saw her brother's eyes glance quickly around himself. It was just enough of a distraction for her to strike first. As she spun and extended her arm, scorching blue flames flew from her two extended fingertips.

Zuko was taken off-guard for only the briefest of moments before regaining his focus and diving forward, toward the flames. He hit the ground, shoulder-first, and rolled into a lethal crouch. As he did so, he swung his foot out, pushing flames in a large wave across the stone towards his sister, who pushed a wall of flame back at Zuko. Her flames engulfed his and traveled past, but as they reached Zuko, he widened his stance, caught the flames and swirled them until they vanished, leaving nothing but the faintest hint of smoke to prove they ever existed.

When he straightened and looked back at Azula, she was looking at her nails, not paying him much mind. Zuko set his jaw as anger rose from the pit of his stomach. Azula smirked cruelly. He thinks he has a chance. How cute.

Like a cobra, Azula started forward with an onslaught of attacks. She spun and whirled, kicking and swinging her arms, two fingers of each hand extended. One after another, tendrils of growing blue flame found their way from her and toward her brother, attempting to ensnare him in a trap of cold fire. Her movements were fluid and practiced; she was a clear master of her firebending forms. Each attack linked into the next like a vicious, dangerous dance.

Zuko jerked back into action, ducking the first wave of flame just in time. He copied her elegant dance with a more hurried version of his own. He was driven backward by the weight of the attack, returning some of her own fire and avoiding the rest. He came to a stop and assessed how far backward he had moved. _I need to get on the offensive_, he thought worriedly.

"Do you see the power the comet brings us, Zuko?" Azula inquired, calling out to her brother over the open space. "This is why we are the superior nation. This is why we conquer. We harness the power bestowed upon us."

Zuko shook his head. "You're wrong, Azula. You abuse the power bestowed upon you." His eye widened as flames came rushing toward him again. He clapped his hands in front of himself quickly, creating a break in the flames as they rushed past him on both sides.

"Hush, ZuZu. You've become faint of heart; how could you possibly understand?" she asked.

Zuko opened his mouth to send back another retort but took a deep breath and decided against it. Instead, he hung his head and clenched his fists tightly. Seeing this, Azula tossed her head back and laughed maniacally. _Oh, he really has become pathetic._

Before his opportunity passed, Zuko stepped and punched one fist forward, sending a massive ball of bright orange flame at Azula. He didn't miss a beat as he quickly and deftly punched, swung, spun and kicked, flames flying across the way rapidly toward his sister. His tenacity displayed his equal - or even greater - mastery of his element than his sister.

Azula scoffed in shock and dismay as she frantically moved to deflect and dodge the attacks. Finally, wanting to avoid a horizontal wave of flames, she leaned back and stumbled, falling flat on her back.

Zuko didn't let up as he stepped closer to his fallen sister with each attack. Finally he was only ten feet away from the young woman who had tortured him for seventeen long years.

"It's over, Azula. Give up," Zuko said, staying in his stance. A slow grin that Zuko was all-too-familiar with spread across Azula's red lips.

"On the contrary, brother, it's just begun." Azula leapt lithely to her feet and danced gracefully backward. Zuko lowered his center of gravity in a defensive stance, holding one hand out toward her with two fingers up and the other behind him, elbow raised and hand in a fist.

Azula grinned mercilessly and with an angered yell, thrust her arm forward, shooting more flame than Zuko had ever seen come from a firebender.

However, he remained calm. He took a deep breath and as he punched his back hand forward, he exhaled powerfully, summoning the strength of the comet to fuel his fire.

The two forces met somewhere between the siblings, blue flame halting against orange fire. The flames continued to flow and they found themselves in a stalemate. Azula felt a single bead of sweat roll down her face as she summoned all of the hatred and fury she could muster from deep within her to aid her in her fight. Zuko, however, closed his eyes and breathed deeply. _Power in firebending comes from the breath, Prince Zuko!_ He even smiled as he heard his Uncle's voice in his head. He drew strength from his purpose, his goal of protecting the people he cared about and restoring balance to the world and as he did this, Azula gritted her teeth to keep her focus.

_It can't be. He can't possibly be stronger than I am._ But sure enough, the orange seemed to break through the blue and Azula's eyes widened in fear. "No!" she shouted as she stumbled back.

There was a large flash and then the flames dispersed, leaving small fires scattered about the arena and smoke billowing into the sky.

Azula lay on the ground on her side, her hair a ragged mess from the fight. Zuko slumped slightly, feeling the oppression of fatigue wash over him, but forced himself to stay standing. "What, Azula? No lightning, today?" he taunted as he straightened and strode toward her motionless form.

She stirred, pushing herself up on her elbows before moving into a crouch.

"What's the matter, afraid I'll redirect it?" Zuko baited. _I just need to get her to attack once more, expend all her energy. Then it'll really be over_, Zuko thought, ready to finish his sister once and for all.

"Oh, I'll show you lightning," Azula said coldly as she pushed herself to her feet. With a practiced focus, she carefully gathered the energy within her body and summoned it, reveling in power as the feeling coursed through her.

"Zuko!"

Zuko turned quickly upon hearing Katara's voice; she was gliding gracefully into the arena on a sheet of ice that gathered before her.

"No! Get out of here, Katara!" Zuko called back. He looked back at Azula with apprehension in his eyes.

Right before sending the lightning at her brother, Azula paused. Her eyes shifted to the waterbender before her. She took a brief moment to be disgusted in the filth her brother had associated himself with. Then, she shifted her stance ever so slightly. Zuko saw this and his good eye widened. He forced himself to move and ran as quickly as he could as he yelled, "Katara!"

Azula took a deep breath before shooting the lightning straight at the girl. Smoke sizzled from the princess's fingertips as she held her stance.

With his last strength, Zuko pushed his feet off the ground and himself into the air, diving in front of the lightning. Or so he thought. Just as he felt the pain of stone beneath him and not the terrible agony of lightning, he heard Katara scream in pain as she fell to the ground.

Zuko pushed himself onto his elbows and then up, moving quickly to his knees beside the young girl. He watched helplessly as her body convulsed, the current reaching her heart.

He picked up her body and held her. "Katara? Katara, no… Katara, please. Katara you can't be… No, please, Katara! Katara!" He looked down in shock as Katara stirred in his arms. "Katara? Katara, are you-"

"Z-Zuko…d-don't lose this war…" she stammered. Her shoulders shook as she coughed, blood trickling from her mouth.

"Katara, shh. You're going to be fine," Zuko assured her even though he had a sickening feeling that he was lying through his teeth.

"N-no, Zuko… Y-you have to t-tell Aang… T-tell him… I love him. And Sokka too. And T-Toph. Y-you're all they have now. T-take...care of them." She coughed again and Zuko adjusted his arm, helping her sit up more so she could spit blood onto the stone beneath them.

"I will, Katara, I promise. Katara, I-... I'm so sorry, Katara…" Zuko whispered. He clenched his eyes tightly as Katara's cold hand came to rest on his cheek. Her thumb stroked the scarred skin under his eye. A soft 'shh' sound came from her as Zuko tried to keep his emotions in check.

"N-no Zuko… D-don't blame…yourself…" Her words were hoarse and quiet. Her body shuddered and Zuko held her tighter as she drew a ragged breath. A gentle breeze blew her hair from her face as her eyes shut and she exhaled for the last time.

"...Goodbye...Katara."

Azula laughed darkly as she shot a series of blasts at Zuko's back. "This isn't over yet ZuZu," she called out to him.

As Zuko stared down at Katara's lifeless form, he heard the unmistakable sound of flames. His eye widening, he turned toward Azula, panic striking his heart. He immediately let go of Katara's body, freeing his hands to defend himself. He reacted just in time to feel the flames singe the hair on his arms instead of burning his flesh.

He rose to his feet slowly, taking careful steps away from Katara as he swallowed his emotions. _I need to face her now and think about Katara later._ "How could you Azula? All you do is hurt people. Do you have a heart at all?!" he yelled at her, feeling his anger bubble up inside him once again.

Azula strode towards her brother, a grin playing on her lips. "I do what needs to be done for the benefit of the Fire Nation; it's what any good Fire Lord would do." Another blast.

_Who does she think she is, calling herself the Fire Lord? This isn't over._ Zuko dodged sideways, but his heart skipped a beat as he realized just how thrown off his game he felt. _Forget Katara for now. You'll have time to feel guilty later._

Summoning some of his old anger, he pushed several fire blasts in Azula's direction but he could feel it in the pit of his stomach. The anger wasn't fueling him anymore; it was blocking his power. Rage boiled up within him and he set off.

"You didn't even know her! She was kind and loyal and caring! All of those things I wish my sister had been! You're a monster, Azula. Mother was right," Zuko said, letting his fury own his words. His last few words were low and layered with hatred, wanting Azula to feel even a fraction of the pain that was clenching his heart.

Azula leapt out of the way of the attack, countering it easily. The waterbender's death had clearly taken its toll. Her face fell momentarily at the mention of their mother, but she quickly pushed it aside. "Mother was weak. She let her emotions cloud her judgment, but look where that got her. Don't you see brother: caring is what gets you killed." She snarled, sending a massive wall of fire his way.

Zuko shook his head. "As usual, you're wrong, Azula." His eye widened at the wall of flame that came barreling toward him and quickly formed a whip of fire. He cracked it forward, splitting the wall enough so that it passed right by him on both sides.

"Mother was a human being. She was like Katara. She had a heart. It was something I didn't have for a long time. It's something you'll never have. Look around you, Azula. You're all alone. And you always will be," Zuko said.

He didn't want to fight anymore. After Katara, he had almost lost the will, but no way was he going to let Azula get away with murder without one hell of a fight. With that in mind, he kept hold of his makeshift whip and made his way quickly toward his sister, cracking and extending the length of flame toward her repeatedly while shooting bursts of flame with his other hand.

Flipping over the fireballs, Azula threw her hands down, propelling herself upwards and onto the roof. She kicked an arc of flame at him, but kept moving; agility was one of her greatest strengths and she was determined to prove Zuko wrong. "Look where having a heart got them. Dead and 'missing'. I may be alone, but I'll never grieve like you. Besides, who needs friends when I have a whole nation to adore me?" She smirked, relentless with her attacks.

It took all of Zuko's self-control to not scream at Azula's blatant disregard for their mother. Ursa had been Zuko's world and her disappearance had started the ever-growing snowball of a lifetime of misery and contempt.

He returned her attacks, blow for blow, more focused on not getting hit by the flames than actually hitting her. She was quick and he just wanted to keep the pressure on her.

As he moved through his firebending forms, he answered her. "They don't love you. They fear you. You'll never know what love feels like. You can't," he said simply. He focused and drew power intentionally from the comet to fuel his attack. With a large breath, he pushed a ball of flame at her large enough to encompass the whole roof she was poised on top of.

Inhaling sharply, Azula dove towards the enormous ball, creating a shield of blue large enough to keep his flames at bay. A flash of heat and a few minor burn wounds later, Azula was crouched on the ground, catching her breath. "I have everything I've ever wanted. I don't need love. Not from anyone, especially not Mother." She snarled before throwing her arms forward, sending two long trains of blue at her opponent.

Zuko dove forward as the two forces of fire came at him and came closer together, forming a "v" behind him as he rolled and landed in a crouch, pushing his arms up and out as he did so in one fluid movement, forming two trails of scorching flame that crackled in Azula's direction.

"Look out Azula!" A worried voice called from the clearing. A lithe girl came tumbling into the clearing, landing gracefully on her feet. Azula smirked, stopping the flames with one hand. She merged them together, the red turning to blue.

"Ty Lee. What a pleasant surprise." Azula had an uncharacteristic hint of warmth in her voice. She shot the ball back with a slight grunt.

With relative ease, Zuko deflected the flames into nonexistence and then shifted his stance, spreading his feet further apart and staying low as he held one hand out in Azula's direction and the other in Ty Lee's. The first two fingers on each hand were up and ready to shoot flame while the others stayed carefully tucked into his palm.

Zuko looked at Ty Lee with an accusatory glint in his eyes, all the while keeping Azula in the corner of his eye. "Where's Mai?!" he demanded of Ty Lee. He hadn't seen his gloomy girlfriend since she had betrayed Azula to help him escape at the Boiling Rock.

"Still in prison. After all, She did commit treason." Ty Lee's voice was quiet. She missed her friend, but it was awfully stupid of her to backstab Azula like that.

"Feel free to join her ZuZu. Since it's your fault she's in there." Azula sent him a wave of fire to accompany every word.

Zuko gritted his teeth together in anger. He would've argued with Azula but he knew she was right. If he hadn't gone on a stupid suicide mission with Sokka, Mai wouldn't be in prison. _Think about Mai later._

He refocused himself as he saw Azula's new wave of attacks almost as if it were in slow motion. He dodged and volleyed her attacks with perfect form, sending back just as many attacks. But he felt distracted. He was too caught up in his thoughts about Mai and Katara that he was almost just...going through the motions.

He was so distracted he didn't notice Ty Lee creep up behind him. "Sorry Zuko," she blurted out before hitting him with a series of quick jabs.

A throaty grunt came from Zuko as he felt the horror of his chi halting inside his body. Ty Lee's words registered moments later and by then the ground was rushing toward him.

He grunted again as his body hit the ground with a dull, silencing thud. His eyes were wide. _I lost. How could I let them all down?_ Zuko dwelled on this thought as he watched Azula draw closer.

His sister looked down at him, a malicious grin on her face. "Check mate, brother," she said flatly.

Zuko curled his lip as he felt Ty Lee's fingers pinch between his shoulder and his neck tightly. His vision fogged as he forced words from his mouth. "It's not...over..." he choked out in a whisper.

Then, Zuko's world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter:** Two  
><strong>Title: <strong>Little Soldier Boy**  
>Rating: <strong>T**  
>Warning: <strong>Warning for more character death. Two characters this chapter. Again, if you wish to know which ones before reading, send me a message and I'll tell you. **  
>Chapter Summary: <strong>In this chapter, Zuko and Azula say more mean things to each other and Aang sticks his nose in things, basically making everything worse. Good job Avatar.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who read, favorited and followed! Thanks to RobotBendingVampire48 for being the first and only review! Keep them coming! They motivate!

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><p>When the sun rose, there was nothing to signify it. For Zuko was in the dark. Even as he awoke and opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything in the pitch blackness of the room.<p>

He groaned as he sat up, feeling aches and pains all over his body. "Uhhnngghh... What happened?" he asked the shadows. But of course, there was no response.

Suddenly, images came rushing back to him and he gasped. "...No! How did I let this happen...?" he asked himself.

He thought back to the end of the battle while he tried to sit up. "Ty Lee…" he said, defeat layering his voice. "I should've known…"

As he reached to run a hand over his face, he realized his hands were shackled to the cold stone wall behind him. "What the-?" He tugged at the chains lightly at first but as his frustration grew, he pulled on them harder and harder until finally he was roaring his anger and his wrists were cut and bleeding from the strain of the metal.

"Raaaaaahhhhhh!" He slumped as he finally gave up on the chains. He panted as he caught his breath from his exerted efforts and resumed his thinking. He was still gathering his thoughts about his Agni Kai with his sister.

His eyes grew wide. "Mai! Ty Lee said she was still in prison… Where am I anyway?" he thought aloud.

Zuko's stomach dropped as he thought back even further. "No…oh, no… Katara," he said, voice soft and laden with sadness. He pinched his eyes shut and clenched his teeth together. "I will avenge you. I promise," he vowed solemnly.

As Aang landed on the ground and his tattoos stopped glowing, he opened his eyes. He looked before him to see the Fire Lord laying on the ground, motionless. He hung his head and shook it. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Ozai," he said, though he knew the deceased Fire Lord could no longer hear him.

Aang felt guilt weigh on his heart as he went to lift Ozai's body, taking it in his arms before leaping into the air to propel himself quickly across the rocky ground.

It seemed like years before he reached the front entrance to the palace. Aang set Ozai's body down and looked around.

"There's…no one…" he said quietly, looking around. He found himself moving to the ledge that surrounded the palace, peering over it to see the battle below. It was still going on, but he could tell that they were losing. "Why are they still fighting? Ozai is gone. Zuko said he would take care of Azula." Aang's eyes widened. "Oh no… Zuko!"

The airbender turned and ran into the palace, which was barren and quiet. "Zuko!" he called, searching for the banished prince frantically.

Finally, he burst through a door that led outside and found himself in a courtyard. There was an archway that led into a stone arena. Aang made his way slowly under the arch and into the arena. As he looked around he could see several small fires still burning and scorch marks all over the place.

"There was a fight here… No…an Agni Kai!" he said as realization struck him hard. Then, another pause. "It' must've been Zuko and Azula!" He looked around, seeing no trace of anyone. "But where is he…?"

Aang searched around a little more before deciding he needed to look for Sokka, Katara and Toph. He made his way back over the ridge and down to where the battle was happening, but as he drew closer, it didn't look like much of a battle anymore. The Water Tribe warriors and earthbenders were being loaded onto the Fire Nation tanks as prisoners. Aang held his glider, ready to attack, but then paused to think._ If I attack now…I could hurt my own comrades. Remember what Bumi said. Sometimes the best plan is nothing._

Although it crushed him to do so, Aang turned away from the battle and opened his glider. He leapt into the air and started off. He scoured the area, looking for any other signs of his missing friends. He knew they were too smart and resourceful to be captured with the other warriors and Aang had a feeling that Hakoda wouldn't have let his kids stick around to share in his imprisonment.

Hours passed that felt like eons and there was no luck for Aang. So with a broken spirit, he traveled off in hopes of finding Appa.

A stream of light leaked into the dark room and Zuko hissed in pain as he turned his face away from it.

"Hello Brother, how are you on this fine morning?" There was laughter in her voice. Azula crossed her arms, taking another step towards Zuko.

Zuko blinked, trying to focus his eyes. "Ah...Azula?" he said, his voice raspy with fatigue. "Let me out of here!" he yelled, his voice finding more strength.

"Why would I do that? I have you exactly where I want you. Tied up and out of the way." Azula's sadistic smirk played on her lips. "You know, I pity you Zuko. We could have made a great team. I guess you just didn't have it in you." She sighed, feigning sadness.

"Yeah right. You never wanted us to be a team. All you do is lie. You deceive and cheat and lie. There's no honor in winning through deceit," he said, glaring up at her from where he sat on his knees in the dank cell.

"Oh ZuZu, when will you realize that life isn't about honor; it's about power. How I won doesn't matter, because I accomplished what I set out to do. I am the new Fire Lord. Where did honor get you?"

Zuko gritted his teeth. "It got me right where I needed to be: fighting to stop you." Defiance and malice burned in his golden eyes as he felt hatred for his sister boil through his veins.

Azula laughed, crouching down next to her brother. "And you tried so hard, didn't you? But in the end, the stronger sibling did prevail. I'm afraid you won't be fighting anyone any time soon." She smiled smugly.

Zuko lifted his head and smirked right back. "Because you're scared," he said smugly. "I bet you have Toph and Sokka all locked up too, because you're terrified of what we could do to you." The thought of Toph getting her hands on his sister was enough to make him chuckle.

She scoffed. "Please, afraid of you and your so called friends? Don't make me laugh." She stood. "As much as I love our little chats, I have much to do before execution day tomorrow." She clapped her hands together. "It'll be a nice family reunion Zuko; aren't you excited? Don't you miss your Uncle?"

Zuko's good eye narrowed suspiciously. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously, even though he had a sinking feeling that he already knew.

"By decree of the new Fire Lord, all treasonists shall be put to death." She stated in a cold, detached tone.

Zuko's defiant mood slowly deflated, which showed in his body language as he slumped forward, the chains tugging at his raw wrists. "Uncle..." His voice was hoarse and thick with worry.

"Don't fret ZuZu, I'll allow you to say goodbye. I know how much Iroh meant to you." The false remorse in her voice was sickening. She took a step towards the door.

"You'll never get away with this, Azula! I'll find a way to stop you, I swear it!" Zuko shouted, lunging forward as far as the chains allowed him as his defiant and angered spirit rose out of him once more.

"Tsk..." She turned to face him. "How sweet, let me know how that works out for you. Goodbye Brother." Azula slammed the door on her way out.

Seconds turned into hours and those hours turned into eternities for Zuko. There was only one thing on his mind and it slowly ate away at him piece by piece.

His uncle.

_I have to do something. He can't die because of something I messed up. If I had defeated Azula like I was supposed to, this wouldn't be happening._ I _would be the Fire Lord and balance would be restored to the world._

Zuko took pause. "Jeez, I sound like Aang," he said to himself gloomily. He hung his head as he resumed thinking of ways to spare his uncle's life.

He didn't know how much time had passed but then the door was opening once more. Zuko looked up, expecting to see his sister again, but instead it was just one of the guards who was stationed outside his cell.

Zuko gritted his teeth and swallowed the temptation to breathe fire at him. The guard looked down at Zuko. "I'm here to take you to see someone," he said vaguely.

Zuko narrowed his eye. "Oh yeah? And who's that?" he answered snidely. He tensed as the guard approached to remove his shackles.

His question was met only with silence. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Typical," he grumbled as he shakily got to his feet. The guard helped him brace himself for a moment before Zuko shrugged him off. New shackles were bound around Zuko's wrists and ankles and then he was lead from the room.

There was a moment as the sound outside his cell hushed around him as he stepped out. He could feel the eyes of other prisoners on him as he began walking. He kept his eyes trained on the guard's back in front of him, not daring to acknowledge the prisoners.

They paused before a door and Zuko made the mistake of looking around. He met the eyes of one scowling man leaning against the bars of his cell. The man narrowed his eyes and spit at Zuko's feet. Zuko's lip curled as the man said, "Disgrace," and moved away from the bars of the cell.

"Come on," the guard quipped, as he was already standing on the other side of the doorway. Zuko bit his tongue as he turned away. _Let it go, Zuko. Why would you care about some dumb common criminal?_

The walk seemed agonizingly slow for him but finally he found himself outside in the courtyard. Only it was empty. It was empty save for one man with his back to Zuko and the guard.

Without any hesitation, Zuko moved toward the man. Even from the back, he would always recognize his uncle. As he drew closer, Iroh stood and smiled brightly at him. "Prince Zuko! You are well after all!"

Zuko smiled faintly. "I guess you could say that. Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?" he asked, concern layering each of his words.

Iroh gave a hearty chuckle. "Oh, nephew, you underestimate me! I am a robust and grappling man! It takes more than a couple guards to hurt the Dragon of the West!" He elbowed Zuko playfully in the ribs. "Please, Prince Zuko, sit."

Zuko sat across from his uncle as he realized there was a pot of steaming tea and two cups and saucers on the mat. Zuko couldn't stop the broad grin that spread across his face.

"Here, nephew, have a hot cup of calming Jasmine tea," Iroh said as poured tea into a cup and handed it to his nephew.

"Thank you, Uncle," Zuko replied, taking a sip. In his more agonizing years of life, Zuko had always hated tea. But as he grew to love his uncle, he grew to love tea as well. And Iroh made the best tea in all the nations.

Zuko took a deep breath as he set his tea down, thinking of what he wanted to say.

"Ah...something is troubling you, Prince Zuko. What is it?" Iroh asked, sipping his tea leisurely.

_He reads me like a book. _"I… it's the… tomorrow. I just… I wanted to say… Well, Uncle, I… I'm sorry." Zuko hung his head in shame, unable to meet the eyes of his true father.

Iroh reached across and placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Zuko… I do not want you to be sorry. I do not blame you for anything. I made my own choices; just as you made yours. And I want you to know this: I am so proud of you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko pinched his eyes shut as sadness and regret rose up from the pit of his stomach. Suddenly feeling nauseous, he looked up at his uncle, water filling his eyes. "But if I had defeated Azula, we wouldn't be here! If I had just won that stupid Agni Kai then she would be locked up in here and you and I - we would be working on fixing the world, instead of being hanged for treason!" Zuko was yelling now and he couldn't stop the several tears that began to fall down his face.

"Shh, my nephew, it is alright. Wherever there is bad, good will rise up to conquer it. There is hope for the world yet. I do not fear death, Prince Zuko, and neither should you. We will walk there together and as we are reunited with Lu Ten, I can rest knowing my family is complete," Iroh said, water filling his own eyes as he thought of his late son.

Zuko wiped his face with the back of one hand and took a deep breath. Iroh always made everything sound better, easier, simpler. "But Uncle, I promised her. I promised Katara I would look out for Aang and Toph and Sokka. I-I can't keep that promise anymore." He hung his head once more. _And I swore to myself I would save you too, Uncle._

"They are strong, Zuko. They will look out for each other and you may still do so from the spirit world. They are a force of good and you can count on them to not give up on defeating Azula. You must look to the bright possibilities of the future, not the dark regrets of the past."

Zuko chuckled humorlessly. "I'm supposed to die tomorrow; how much future can there be?"

Iroh smiled knowingly. "There is a world of possibilities out there, Prince Zuko; just you wait."

Although the first signs of daylight were just starting to peer out over the mountain, a crowd had already gathered in the commons. It seemed as if the entire Fire Nation had come out to watch. Azula sat cross-legged in her throne, a cold, determined smirk plastered on her face. Ty Lee stood off to the side, biting her nails. She didn't want to be here; Iroh and Zuko didn't deserve to die. "Bring out the prisoners," Azula said, causing an uproarious reaction from the crowd. Guards led the cuffed men into the square.

As Zuko walked into the open space beside his uncle, they were met with a chorus of malignments. Zuko hung his head and glanced at his uncle who - unlike his nephew - held his head high with pride. Zuko tried to copy this in a false sense of bravery and honor. Truthfully, he was scared.

As they moved forward, his uncle knelt before Azula but Zuko scoffed as the guard told him to follow suit. Then the guard behind him pushed between his shoulders. Zuko turned, a throaty growl coming out of him as he went to strike the guard. But the guard kicked the back of his knee and with a grunt he fell forward onto his hands and knees before his sister. _It makes me sick to see her on that throne._

Azula stood, walking to the edge of the platform. She held her chin up, victory radiating from her features. "Hello Brother, Uncle." She turned, addressing the mob. "Today is a proud day for the Fire Nation. These men have turned their backs on their family, and on all of you. But their treachery will not go unpunished. I stand here today as your Fire Lord, and it is with great pleasure and a clear conscience that I sentence these men to death."

Zuko gritted his teeth as the crowd roared their approval. _Spineless fools_, he thought to himself. He watched as Azula inclined her head to the guard behind him. He was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and hauled to his feet roughly. He glanced over as his Uncle was helped to his feet and then Zuko received another shove in the back and he turned his back after sending a glare at his smug sister over his shoulder. He began walking towards the gallows. He began walking to his death.

Aang stood on the ridge of the volcano and watched as the people of the Fire Nation gathered in the Capitol's Square. _Something important is happening. I should check it out_. Aang popped open his glider and set to the sky. He flew nearer to the square and as he squinted, he saw Azula, seated on a throne as two men knelt before her. Aang flew a little lower and squinted once more.

"Zuko!" he gasped to himself in shock. "He lost…" he said absently. "I've gotta do something."

He flew back to the ridge where he had made camp and retrieve Fire Lord Ozai's body. Then, he glided above the Square.

Azula's eyes widened in shock as something fell from the sky. Women in the crowd screamed in fear as Azula recognized her father's body. _So the Avatar bested you, Father. Such a shame._

Aang landed on the ground lightly, gracefully even, beside the deceased Phoenix King. He turned to see Zuko and Iroh standing on the platform of the gallows.

"Aang!" Zuko called, a smiling gracing his features briefly. It quickly turned into a scowl. "Watch out!" he shouted.

Aang turned just in time to jump over the flames Azula had shot at him. She smirked before she spoke. "I'm glad you're here, Avatar. Now you can witness the death of your so-called firebending teacher and his fat, lazy uncle."

"No!" Aang shouted, his voice booming as air swirled around him. Fire Nation soldiers rushed forward, prepared to attack, but Azula held up one hand, halting their movements immediately.

Azula raised a perfectly sculpted brow. "Oh? And how do you suggest to stop it? All your friends are in prison. There are guards posted outside their cells and I could have them killed at a moment's notice."

Aang's mind whirled. He needed a plan. But he couldn't sacrifice Katara, Sokka and Toph to save Zuko and Iroh. He stared at the ground for a moment while he thought before hatching an idea.

"I'll surrender. If you spare them, I won't fight you, Azula. You'll be able to rule the Fire Nation however you please and I'll be out of your way," Aang said solemnly.

The crowd had gone silent at this and Aang looked up to Azula, awaiting her response. Slowly, a grin spread across her lips. "Alright, Avatar. You have a deal. Take his staff," she ordered.

Aang closed his glider and handed it to one of the soldiers. He then held out his hands as they were shackled and stumbled as he was shoved to the side of the platform where Azula stood. He watched the Fire Lord as she sent a single stream of lightning toward the gallows. Aang saw Zuko's eyes widen in shock before they pinched shut in a flinch, but then he relaxed as he realized the rope that had been placed around his neck had been singed and cut.

_She's taking his offer without lying? But...Azula __**always**__ lies._ Zuko's good eye narrowed suspiciously as he was lead off the platform. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his uncle was behind him. Just as he did this, he heard Azula's voice.

"Hang the old man."

Zuko's head whipped toward his sister. "No!" he and Aang shouted together. Azula's sick smirk was still plastered on her face.

"You can't do this! You're a liar, Azula! A liar and a coward!" Zuko roared in anger as he struggled against the guards holding him. He elbowed one in the nose and the other in the gut and then he was running back toward the gallows, toward his uncle.

"No, Prince Zuko! Don't sacrifice yourself! You have a larger purpose in life!" Iroh said to him.

"No, Uncle. I don't have a purpose without you. I was lost for so long already," he said, almost to himself. Steeling himself, he jumped back onto the platform and faced the undertaker. Zuko kicked flame in his direction and the man stumbled back and off the platform. Zuko moved to his uncle and went to take the noose from around his neck.

"Brother."

Zuko looked over at Azula and he took pause. She had fashioned a dagger from her robes and was holding it against Aang's throat. The poor kid's eyes were wide with fear and Zuko felt that look tug on his heartstrings. He looked back to his uncle. There was no fear on his face. Instead, there was a smile.

"It is alright, Prince Zuko. His life is far more important than mine. I have lived long, prosperous years and have had the pleasure of seeing two sons grow into brave, honorable young men. Now it is time for me to be reunited with my first son. You must let me go, my son," he said.

Zuko's eyes began to water. "I don't know if I can… I can't lose my father. You're the only family I have left."

"No, my Prince. You have the Avatar and your friends. They are your family as well. And you must live to help them. They cannot do this without you," he replied, calmly as ever.

"And I can't do it without you!" Zuko shouted, the tears now falling freely down his cheeks.

"Yes you can, my son. I'm very proud of you." He smiled again.

Zuko ran to his uncle, wanting to embrace him, but due to his shackles and the rope about Iroh's neck he couldn't. Iroh however, wrapped his shackled arms about Zuko's neck and held his head close to his chest.

"I love you, Prince Zuko. Don't you ever forget that." Finally Iroh's voice cracked as tears fell from his tired eyes.

"I love you too, Uncle." Zuko sobbed once as his uncle removed him from his embrace.

"Alright, lovebirds, I'm getting bored. Who's going to die? The kid or the old man?" Azula's flat tone made Zuko's anger boil up from the pit of his stomach, but as another sound reached his ears, he was calmed once more.

"_Leaves from the vine. Falling so slow._" Zuko glanced at his uncle once more as the guard finally picked himself up and moved to the lever.

"_Like fragile tiny shells. Drifting in the foam_." Iroh was still smiling as his voice carried through the otherwise silent Square. "_Little soldier boy says 'Carry me home.' Sleeping soldier boy, is carried home_." Silent tears made tracks from Iroh's eyes to his beard.

Azula flicked her wrist and the lever was pulled. The floor fell away and with a sickening noise, Zuko watched the man he considered his father die before his eyes.

He let out an anguished cry as he dropped to his knees and sobbed. It was the only sound that rang out. Then, there was a dark silence until finally Zuko broke it once more.

"_Leaves from the vine. Falling so slow_."


	3. Chapter 3

So that last chapter really gets me. I kind of hated writing it because it was so upsetting, but like Zuko, we'll all have to try to move on. Maybe things will start looking up for our hero!

Shout out to Brenne for the review! Thanks for the support! And thanks to everyone else who favorited and followed!

**Chapter:** Three  
><strong>Title:<strong> Burned Bridges  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Warning:<strong> First chapter without a character death! Hooray! But there is course language and depictions of violence, which is why this chapter is tentatively rated M.  
><strong>Chapter Summary:<strong> The siblings both receive blasts from the past as they chat with a few old...acquaintances.

* * *

><p>Ty Lee approached the Fire Lord's chamber cautiously, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. "Azula?" She called out. "It's me."<p>

"Come in." Ty Lee pushed open the door to see Azula getting her hair combed. The Fire Lord looked very pleased with herself, a look that had been etched into her features since Iroh was hanged. Her expression hadn't faltered even as they cremated her father. Ty Lee sat down on the bed, a safe distance away from her unpredictable friend. Azula looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Where have you been?"

"Visiting." The guilty look on Ty Lee's face made Azula chuckle. She dismissed the royal hair combers.

"I see. How is the traitor?" Azula spat the word like poison from her tongue.

"Good," Ty Lee said absently, as if there was something she wasn't saying. But she continued. "She wants to see you."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why? So she can try to kill me again?"

Ty Lee shrugged her shoulders, trying to make light of the serious conversation. "She made a mistake. People do foolish things for the ones they love."

"If Mai thinks she loves my brother, she belongs in a cell."

"Good one Azula!" Ty Lee chuckled nervously and then an awkward silence fell between the two. "So... will you come talk to her? Please Azula, just give her another shot," she pleaded. Azula stared at her with scrutinizing eyes. Ty Lee gave her her best puppy dog pout, her bottom lip trembling. Azula sighed, giving in.

"Fine. We can go talk to the double-crosser." Ty Lee jumped up, beaming from ear to ear.

"Thank you 'Zula, you won't regret it, I swear!" She threw her arms around her surprised friend. Suddenly, the door flew open.

"Fire Lord Azula..." The guard's voice was apologetic and nervous. She pushed Ty Lee away.

"What?" She scowled.

"There is an issue that requires your immediate attention."

"This better be important."

"It's your brother... He's... He's making quite a scene. It's becoming a problem." The Fire Lord's mouth twisted into a smirk.

"I see. I'll handle it. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You're dismissed, Warden." He bowed and left, closing the door behind him.

"What are you gonna do?" Ty Lee bit her lip.

"I have a special present in mind for ZuZu. Head over there and make sure everything is fit for my arrival. I have a few things to tend to here first." Ty Lee nodded and did a quick curtsey.

"Bye Azula, see you soon!" She skipped out of the room. Azula waited before exiting her room, making her way down to the dungeon. It's former occupants having been removed, it now held the Dai Li. The earthbenders bowed as she entered.

"How can we be of assistance, Fire Lord Azula?"

"I'd like to see our favorite project."

"Of course Fire Lord." They parted to lead her to her target, who was lounging on a bale of hay.

"I have a job for you."

"Oh yeah?" he toned, not moving an inch from where he lay, hands behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles, staring up at the ceiling.

"It seems as if my brother is causing a disturbance in prison. I'd like you to put him in his place."

"Why don't you just do it?" He didn't bother to look at the Fire Lord as he spoke, simply moving to take a piece of the hay he was laying on and twirl it between his fingers.

Azula gave a humorless laugh. "I want to hurt him, not kill him. Besides, I'd much rather watch."

"Do you have any preference how?" One arched eyebrow found its way upward as his dark eyes finally looked over at the small window where Azula's face was.

A slow smirk stretched across Azula's lips. "Oh, I have a few ideas."

* * *

><p>Zuko gritted his teeth as the guards pulled tightly on the chains shackled to his wrists, which were raw and bloody. They were dragging him by these chains through the palace now, having put them on after the incident. Zuko had laughed when he realized the guards were afraid to get too close to him.<p>

He looked back on the past several hours as he was finally dragged outside.

_He snapped. He didn't know why. Or how. All he knew was the fury in the pit of his stomach. The guard had only come to deliver his food but Zuko looked at him and saw Azula, the face that had plagued the inside of his eyelids. He wanted blood._

_With an enraged shout, he kicked one leg forward, flame shooting through the bars of the cell and catching the guard full in the face. He recoiled back, screaming in pain, drowning out the sound of Zuko's heartless laugh._

_More guards had come running, shouting followed and Zuko sat back against the wall for a moment, almost feeling guilty. It was only when one of the guards sent fire at him that he snapped once more. He sent the fire back using only his legs to firebend._

_The guards had scampered off to find his sister as he remained sitting, smirking to himself._

It was a few injuries to the guards later that they finally had him bloodied, bruised and in chains. He supposed he was going to be punished somehow. Spirits forbid his sister leave him alone for a moment or two. Although he supposed he might've earned it for himself this time.

As he was pulled into the Square, he could see people passing by stop and stare at him. He heard whispers of "That's Prince Zuko!" and "I wonder what they're gonna do to the traitor."

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from shouting at the Fire Nation civilians who began to stop and make a large circle in the square.

Zuko stumbled into the middle of this makeshift circle and found himself in front of a metal post. The chains attached to the post were manacled to his forearms before his other chains were removed. As the guards gathered his old chains, he gave the new ones an experimental tug. Not even a budge. He gave an indignant 'humph' as he looked back toward the palace.

The sound of cloth ripping reached his ears and he felt confusion sweep over him as he watched his shirt fall uselessly to the ground. That too was gathered by the guards and then they were gone, leaving Zuko alone, bare-chested in the middle of the wide Square.

Silence fell over the crowd as they waited.

* * *

><p>The Warden struggled to keep up with the long gait of the man leading him. They were catching a lot of stares and people whispered as they passed. The Warden was feeling a bit nervous but that wasn't really surprising. He was a cowardly man who employed others to do his dirty work.<p>

The large, ornate doors were pushed open and the pair of them strode out. The formerly silent crowd began to murmur at the sight of the man before them: all tan skin, mismatched armor and a piece of hay twirled between his fingertips.

They moved to the side as Fire Lord Azula was carried out in her palanquin. She stepped out and moved to stand on the platform on which she had stood just the afternoon before.

She smirked cruelly at the sorry sight her brother made before addressing her people. "Citizens of the Fire Nation, your fallen Prince has been lashing out in anger at innocent guards. He even left one with a scar to rival his own. So we are here today to remind him that his behavior is inexcusable, and that his misdemeanors will not go unpunished." Azula looked at the man to her left and curled her fingers in a "come here" motion.

A smirk played at the edges of the man's lips as he leapt gracefully onto the platform beside Azula, not bothering with the few stairs.

Azula fashioned a small metal handle from the sash around her waist. The man watched with peaked interest as the Fire Lord flicked her wrist and blue flame shot from the handle. His eyes widened briefly and his body tensed as if he wanted to move away.

The Fire Lord held the handle out and the man took it from her slowly, almost cautiously. He cracked it once and the roar of fire sounded as the flame left a black trail on the open ground between the platform and the post where the prisoner stood.

Azula smirked devilishly as she observed her newest pet project as he tested out the balance and weight of the whip in his hand.

"For his brutal retaliation against the hard-working men of the palace, I hereby sentence _'Prince'_ Zuko to fifty lashes."

The man at her side stepped nonchalantly off the platform, landing lightly on the ground and tossing the handle between his hands casually as he strode toward the post. A dead silence hung in the air as he slowly circled to stand in front of Zuko, who had his head hung, muscles tense and braced for the vicious lashes that awaited him.

It didn't come, though. Instead, the man used the handle of the whip to tilt Zuko's head up from under his chin. Defiant, golden eyes rose to meet patronizing, dark ones.

Defiance shifted to surprise as Zuko found himself speaking. "...Jet?"

Jet simply smirked and let his hand, still clutching the heated metal of the handle, fall back to his side, taking just one step backward. "Fancy meeting you here, _Li_," Jet said, his tone mocking and almost offended.

Zuko's lip lifted in a snarl. "What the hell happened to you?!" he demanded.

Jet simply shrugged, moving further away from Zuko until he was standing behind him once more. "I found someplace better to stay than the streets of Ba Sing Se. You should really try living in a palace sometime. It's lovely," he said, his voice layered with faux sweetness.

Zuko didn't dignify his sarcasm with a response. He was still too shocked to see Jet. Jet, of all people, was the one doling out punishment, to _him_? His head was beginning to hurt just thinking about it.

He didn't have to think about it much longer, though, because he heard the flare of the flames as they were drawn back. His entire body tensed, preparing for the terrible feeling he knew was coming.

Jet put all of the gusto he could muster into throwing the whip forward and he watched with a certain sick pleasure as Zuko's whole body flinched forward and his knees shook from the pain. No sound came from the firebender, but he was determined to change that.

He pulled his arm back and flung it forward once more, a small grunt escaping his lips at the effort. Even from the slight distance, Jet could see Zuko's knuckles go white as he gripped the chains that held him in place. His forehead rested against the post and Jet could tell he wasn't as tough as he thought he was.

Several minutes passed like this until Azula spoke. "Jet, count out loud." She was seated elegantly on the throne that sat atop the platform only a few dozen feet away. Jet nodded in acceptance and continued with his assignment.

"Seventeen," he said aloud, just as the whip cracked and singed against Zuko's already raw and torn up back. Finally, the forsaken prince let a grunt escape him and he dropped to his knees, his arms trembling with the effort of trying to keep himself up.

"My life went to shit because of you!" Jet called across the open space. _Crack! Eighteen._ "Fucking firebenders. I was right, you know! And they took me away from what little I had because they believed _you_!" _Crack! Crack! Nineteen. Twenty._

Zuko didn't say anything back to Jet. How could he? What would he say? He didn't have any words for the former Freedom Fighter. He couldn't speak without shouting in pain anyway. He pinched his eyes shut and thought his teeth would shatter from the effort of keeping them clenched.

Minutes that seemed like years passed and Zuko thought he may have been coming in and out of consciousness, but when he heard Jet yell, "Thirty-two!" his eyes snapped open again and finally, a strangled shout of pain ripped its way from his chest.

Zuko had long since tuned out the cheers of the crowd but they roared even louder as they found their so-called prince had finally been broken.

The worst was the sound of Azula and Jet's laughter reaching his ears, cold and cruel. His body had stopped shaking and instead he felt limp and numb, a constant, dull throb the only thing he could feel as he prayed to the Spirits that Jet would skip a few numbers.

He didn't.

More minutes ticked by and Zuko wondered how he had any more blood left to bleed. He sighed in relief as he heard Jet call, "Forty-nine!" but then quickly regretted letting his guard down as he flinched once more from the impact of the whip eating away at his burning, aching flesh.

Jet took pause and Zuko's body tensed in anticipation, but the time stretched on as if the world had been frozen. Eventually a hush fell over the crowd and all Zuko could hear was the heaving breaths that belonged to Jet.

"I've spent so many months hating you. And finally, I have the chance to exact my revenge for what you cost me." Jet's voice was low and he spoke between his ragged breaths, the strenuous nature of his task finally catching up to him, even as adrenaline continued to pump through his veins. _I've spent months hating him, but…I don't feel any better._ Jet kept his thoughts to himself. Even if he did feel like shit about the whole thing, he was given orders. _Maybe,_ he thought, _maybe I'll feel better when I can rest and take a breather._

"You took everything from me." His voice had dropped to a low, flat tone that cut through the air that separated them. Jet's face was completely blank as Zuko looked over his shoulder to meet his eyes. "Fifty."

Zuko turned his face away quickly and didn't bother to keep his mouth shut as the last torturous lash cut through him. His throat raw and his voice hoarse, he took several breaths - as deep as he could without hurting himself too much - before he spoke. When he did, his voice sound broken and was filled with remorse and sadness. "I'm sorry." It was soft and he wasn't even sure if Jet had heard him. He coughed a few times, spitting on the ground before he tried again. His voice found some volume but was still void of any stability. "I'm sorry, Jet," he said, voice still cracking.

He looked over his shoulder again and found himself staring at Jet's back. He could see the tense grip he had on the handle and he was close enough to see the sweat making a trail down his neck. He was rigid and frozen in place. Even without looking at his face, Zuko could sense the turmoil that churned inside of him.

Like a python-lizard, Jet turned and Zuko's eyes widened. He screamed as the whip tore through him once more.

Jet stood panting and stared at Zuko's back. "That one was for me," he said lowly, turning and stalking back to the platform. As he approached, the flames faded away and he tossed the handle at Azula's feet. Without saying anything to her, he turned and walked swiftly back into the palace, his long steps carrying him easily away, accompanied by the cheers of the citizens.

A grin was imprinted into Azula's features as she stood. She waved her hand dismissively to the guards. "Leave him there for awhile. He can do with a little more humiliation," she said flatly as she turned to follow Jet's path back into the palace.

Zuko knelt before the post, body shaking with pain and embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he whispered once more. There were a lot of things for him to be sorry for. He was sorry for what happened to Jet, for Katara and Uncle's deaths, for Aang's imprisonment and even for leaving Mai at the Boiling Rock. But the longer he knelt there, his back stinging and his entire body sore - even though he knew it was selfish - he mostly felt sorry for himself.

* * *

><p>Ty Lee could hardly contain her excitement. She couldn't wait for them to be best friends again! She led the Fire Lord down the halls, turning back to make sure she was still following. Azula was scowling in disgust at the prisoners who reached out for her, hurling insults. Ty Lee tugged on Azula's sleeve.<p>

"Come on Azula!" She quickened her steps. Azula pulled her arm away.

"Will you stop rushing me? Royalty never hurries."

"I'm sorry 'Zula... I can't help myself! I'm just so happy you're here!" Azula rolled her eyes, but a slight smile grew on her lips. Ty Lee's enthusiasm was contagious.

They finally approached the cell, the guards retreating to give them some privacy. Ty Lee knocked on the door. "Mai! Mai, we're here!"

The gloomy, raven-haired girl was sitting on her cot with her knees up to her chest, looking extremely bored. She voiced as much. "Finally. Something to do," she said in her usual monotonous tone, though one might detect the slightest bit if something like relief or maybe even a little excitement which was all the enthusiasm they were going to get.

Mai pushed herself up and off of the cot, looking almost unrecognizable in her prison uniform and her hair in a loose ponytail. She walked over to the door, her posture perfect and trained. She really did stick out in prison. She stood with her arms crossed about a foot away from the door.

"Thanks for coming," she said, looking at Azula who stood past Ty Lee's beaming features. Mai stifled the urge to roll her eyes at the acrobat's ridiculousness.

"I hear you're finally ready to admit your mistake." Azula smirked, stepping next to Ty Lee.

"Something like that," Mai said, shifting her weight onto one foot. "I guess you could say I've had a long time to think," she said, looking down at the floor as she continued. "I realized that I deserted my country when they needed me most. I see now that my job was to help Zuko realize he was wrong and come back to us. I failed. I failed him; I failed you; and I failed the Fire Nation." Her head remained down and her voice flat as she hoped Azula found her response fit.

Azula gave a curt nod, clearly pleased with what she heard. "Yes. You were a complete failure, weren't you? What were you even thinking: picking my brother over me? You had to have known you were picking the losing side. Seriously Mai, what did you even see in him? I was going to have you executed for treason, but it seems to me you've learned your lesson. No harm, no foul, I guess." She shrugged, unveiling a key from her robe. She opened the cell door. "Welcome back, Mai." Her tone was warm. "Now, let's go have some fun." A sadistic grin formed on her lips.

Surprise flared through Mai as she heard that Azula was planning on executing her. But her face remained completely blank and emotionless as always. "I don't know," she said, picking her head up, "he was hot, I guess." She figured she'd get a laugh out of Ty Lee and an eye roll from Azula and things would be back to normal. And she did. She allowed herself a small smile as she stepped out of the cell and Ty Lee threw her arms enthusiastically around her neck.

"Yay! I'm so glad you're back Mai!" she shouted, smiling broadly.

Mai slowly raised her arms and gently patted Ty Lee on the back. "Good to be back," she said monotonously.

As she followed Azula and Ty Lee down the hall, she couldn't help but think: _That was easier than I thought it'd be._


	4. Chapter 4

Back again! I understand that some people hate Jet and, especially after that last chapter, I don't blame you. But, I absolutely love him as a character and he will forever hold a special piece of my heart so I apologize for painting him in such a harsh light (not that he was ever portrayed in a gentle light lol).

I decided to post this chapter so soon after the other because I took awhile longer than I meant to with chapter three and this chapter isn't really actual storyline, it's mostly flashback.

**Chapter:** Four  
><strong>Title:<strong> Outcasts  
><strong>Rating:<strong> K+  
><strong>Warning: <strong>I actually don't think there is one for this chapter. No language, no adult themes, no real violence. All in all, a pretty pleasant chapter, I'd say. Although, it might just be me being too lazy to actually proofread and figure out if there should be an actual warning. If you guys read it and disagree with my rating/warning for this chapter, please let me know. :)  
><strong>Chapter Summary:<strong> A glimpse into the past, back to Zuko and Jet's first meeting.

* * *

><p>He had lost track of time. All Zuko knew was the sweltering heat of the sun beating down on him and the ache that throbbed through his entire body. His knees were sore from the stone beneath them, his back stung from the sweat seeping into his open wounds, his head swam from the pain as he came in and out of consciousness.<p>

Both his waking moments and his blackouts were filled with images of the same thing.

Jet.

He didn't know what to make of his own thoughts but he knew that the people that passed who beat him and spit on him weren't enough of a distraction to stop his spiraling train of thought.

He was lost in a time that seemed like a lifetime ago.

* * *

><p><em>The sea breeze was cool as Zuko stood, hands braced against the railing of the ship. "I feel ridiculous in these robes, Uncle," he muttered under his breath.<em>

_"This is what the people of the Earth Kingdom wear, Prince Zuko," Iroh said from where he was seated, trying to tune the ukulele in his hands._

_"Yeah," Zuko grumbled, "that's why I feel ridiculous." Uncle didn't respond, most likely because he was too preoccupied with his attempt at music._

_A sense of calm fell over the banished prince as the afternoon moved slowly onward, much like the ship he was on. Like he did so often, he found himself losing track of time and when a figure appeared beside him, he didn't know how long he had been standing there._

_The man was someone who worked in the kitchen and he was holding out a bowl for him. Zuko frowned but took it nonetheless. He noticed his uncle had risen and was looking out over the water._

"_Who would have thought after all these years I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…as a tourist!" he said, turning to his nephew with a broad smile._

_Zuko grimaced. "Look around," he said sourly, "we're not tourists. We're refugees." Zuko sighed heavily as he looked down into the bowl before him. He curled his lip and scoffed. _I'm royalty, _he thought, _I shouldn't have to eat this peasant shit. _He didn't meet his uncle's eyes as he took a slurp from the bowl in his hands. Just as quickly, he spit it back out. "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt; I'm tired of living like this!" he grumbled, clearly frustrated._

"_Aren't we all?"_

_Zuko's eyes followed the sound of the voice to see a man leaning against a post behind him. The first thing he noticed was a piece of wheat hanging from the corner of the man's mouth. Then he realized we wasn't so much a man, but a teenager - much like himself._

_He was grinning around the piece of wheat in his mouth. "I hear the captain eats like a king while the refugees are forced to eat shit. Me and my Freedom Fighters were planning on 'liberating' some food for the passengers." He deliberately looked at Zuko's scar and then fixed his gaze on the swords strapped to his back. "You in?" He was still grinning._

_Zuko met his eyes. Even though he wanted to punch the annoying, idiotic smirk off his face, Zuko couldn't help but say, "Yeah. I'm in."_

_Zuko stifled the urge to roll his eyes as a smug simper found its way onto the guy's lips._

_Hours passed and as the sun was slipping behind the horizon, Zuko could feel a heavy stare on his back. He didn't bother turning around because he knew without looking exactly who it was._

_He felt him shuffle a bit closer and turned so his elbows rested against the railing and looked at Zuko, kind of in his personal space. "So… My name's Jet."_

"_Good for you," Zuko responded frostily. _What is this guy's problem? _Zuko thought. He wanted to look away but he found that he would much rather have eyes on the guy who could so easily and nonchalantly step into his space like this and not give two shits._

_Jet chuckled good-naturedly at Zuko's "joke" before pressing on. "So what's your name?" he asked._

_Zuko was perfectly content ignoring that question but Uncle spoke up then and answered for him. "That is my nephew, Li. Excuse his manners; he was raised poorly. I am Mushi; we are refugees from Omashu." Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle, always having to make friends._

"_Pleasure to meet you Mushi. You too Li," said Jet, smirking at Zuko even as he spoke to Uncle._

_Zuko looked out over the water again. "Yeah, I'm sure it is," he said sourly as Jet turned and seated himself beside "Mushi"._

_"Come, nephew, and eat your dinner." Uncle was already spooning the luke warm porridge into his mouth, hungry enough that the bad taste didn't deter him._

_Zuko heaved a sigh and sat down next to Jet who was almost directly across from Iroh. Zuko felt trapped between the two men and as he sat, he could feel the warmth of Jet's thigh against his own._

_He grimaced slightly as he picked up his bowl and shifted nervously as he began eating. He forced himself to swallow each spoonful as the silence dragged on. There was an oppressive weight bearing down on his chest that he tried to swallow past. _Who does this guy think he is? _he thought, making an annoyed face at the bowl in his hands._

_"Glaring at it won't make it taste better, you know." Zuko picked his head up and shifted his narrowed gaze to Jet._

_"Yeah and who asked you?" he said coldly._

_Jet held up his hands in mock surrender as he said, "Just a joke. Lighten up, Li," as he clapped him on the shoulder._

_Zuko tensed under the touch but Jet wasn't discouraged and left his hand there a moment too long, patting him on the back gently before withdrawing his hand._

"_So Jet," Uncle began, "where are you from?" he asked in a conversational tone._

_Jet took another sidelong glance at Zuko and smirked before dragging his eyes away to look at Iroh. "I come from a small village called Hiroshi. It was in a valley in the woods. The Fire Nation… They took over in the valley. Me and my Freedom Fighters moved to the forest nearby and started fighting back. But Hiroshi… Well, it's gone now," he said, a strange tone creeping into his voice. Zuko thought he may have sounded guilty underneath his sadness but he couldn't tell for sure as Jet stared at the deck between the three of them. "And so me and Smellerbee and Longshot decided to come to Ba Sing Se so we could start fresh. We want to help with the war somewhere that it'll actually matter," he finished. When he picked his head up, his confident grin had resumed its place on his lips and the mischievous glint came back into his eyes with just a blink._

If he's as fucked up as he seems, he sure knows how to cover it up, _Zuko thought as Uncle spoke. "I'm sure you will find your way. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."_

_Jet laughed as Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle's ridiculous proverbs. "Thanks, Mushi. I'll remember that one," Jet said, moving the piece of wheat in his mouth to the other side as he flashed his teeth in a growing smile. "What about you guys? Why'd you leave Omashu?" Jet asked, not bothering with a spoon and slurping straight from the bowl._

_It was a legitimate question. Uncle had already said they'd come from the Earth Kingdom city and had asked about Jet's past; it was fair for him to ask in return, but as Zuko looked at Uncle, the elderly man seemed at a loss for words and hastily covered it up by eating._

_Zuko took the opportunity to fill the gap. "We…" he started, trailing off as he scrambled to think of an excuse. "We had a run-in with the Fire Nation too. I guess you could say it didn't go too well. We're kind of…wanted," Zuko said slowly, his hand raising, as if it had a mind of its own, to touch the scarred skin under his eye._

_When he looked up again, Jet was looking into his eyes seriously. "I'm sorry to hear that, Li. I understand how you feel." His tone was thick and Zuko was surprised at the genuineness which was almost enough to make Zuko feel guilty about his lie._

_He continued to stare into Jet's dark, sympathetic eyes until Jet placed a rough, calloused hand on Zuko's knee. Zuko flinched slightly and looked down at his hand before looking back up to glare at him. But he didn't. Because Jet's smile had turned away from the cocky smirk and became a soft upturning of his lips._

"_Thanks," Zuko said quietly. He felt a blush rise to his cheeks and he turned his face away as he cleared his throat nervously. He didn't have to look at Iroh to know he was smiling behind the rim of his teacup. He would grumble at his uncle but he didn't want to draw any more attention to the redness on his face than he needed to._

_Jet was grinning again and coughed to cover his chuckle. He graciously removed his hand to keep from embarrassing poor "Li" any further and Zuko silently thanked the spirits for that._

_Several moments passed as silence fell between the three men. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though, simply a thoughtful one. Soon after, Uncle stood with a slight grunt. "My old bones grow weary as night approaches. It was an honor to meet and dine with you, Jet," he said as he bowed and smiled at Jet._

_Jet grinned back politely. "The pleasure was all mine, Mushi. Have a restful night," he said. Uncle patted his nephew on the shoulder and Zuko looked up to meet his eyes. He could see the humor glinting in his uncle's eyes and Zuko narrowed his good one in response, effectively glaring at his uncle. Iroh stifled the urge to chuckle at his nephew before he finally moved away to go to sleep._

_Zuko looked down at the nearly empty bowl in his hands. If the silence wasn't uncomfortable before, it had certainly become so. However, it didn't last long before Jet spoke. "Your uncle is a good man," he said. When Zuko looked over at him, he was fiddling with the buckles on one of his armored shoulder plates._

"_Yeah. I guess you could say that," Zuko responded vaguely, picking at a loose string of fabric on his robe. He glanced at Jet from under his eyelashes, watching him struggle with the bindings of his armor._

_Zuko heaved a sigh and moved to his knees, sitting back on the balls of his feet before smacking Jet's hands away. Jet looked up at him slowly and one side of his mouth quirked up._

_Zuko rested his fingertips against the buckles, studying them for a moment. They were made in the Earth Kingdom so he wasn't quite used to them so it took him a few moments of silence before he finally set to work on them. They were tied on improperly and a bit tangled._

_"Who put this on you?" Zuko grumbled, clearly becoming exasperated with the bindings._

_Jet shrugged as he watched the other boy's brow furrow in frustration. "I did," he responded coolly._

_Zuko rolled his eyes. "Well you did it wrong."_

_Jet laughed lightly. "Hey, if it stays on and protects me then I'm doing okay, right?"_

_"Yeah but now it's a whole process to get the stupid thing off," Zuko countered as he finished with one of the buckles. He moved on his knees to the other side of Jet to being working on the other side._

_"Li, have you ever worn armor?" Jet questioned. "Because I can tell you this: when you gotta put it on, you just put it on. There's no time to think about how you're gonna take it off later." The tone of Jet's voice had changed and he had looked away from Zuko, clearly lost in a memory._

_Zuko didn't answer. He wasn't exactly the best with words and he didn't want to make Jet feel worse. So he waited until he finished with the other shoulder and lifted the rugged plate over Jet's head, setting it down on the deck beside them._

_"There," he said, unsure of what else he could say._

_Jet picked his head up then and Zuko realized just how close he was to him. He could feel the heat coming from his body, a stark contrast to the chill of the night breeze. The smirk had faded from Jet's lips as he slowly raised one hand, giving Zuko plenty of time to pull away, and cupped his jaw. The rough pad of his thumb rubbed against the scarred skin of his cheek as Zuko stared into Jet's eyes._

_Then, he abruptly pulled away, leaning back on his heels and grabbing Jet's wrist roughly. "What are you doing?!" he demanded._

_Jet's eyebrows tilted up in a sheepish expression as he gently placed his other hand over Zuko's, pulling softly until the other boy let go of his wrist. Their gazes never broke, even as Jet said, "I'm sorry." His voice was quiet and Zuko could tell he wasn't apologizing for touching him; he was apologizing for things he had no knowledge of - things that ran so much deeper than the scarred surface of his skin._

_Zuko huffed and tore his hand from Jet's, pushing himself to his feet. He met Jet's eyes once more; Jet could see the confusion, the turmoil, in those golden eyes and he felt an insatiable desire to smother that distrust within the boy before him, but before he could say anything more, Zuko had turned and briskly walked away._

_As Jet sat on the deck of the ship, he took the piece of wheat from his lips and held it between two fingers. He watched it carefully as the night wind carried it away and then hung his head._

_A few hours had passed and it was well into the early hours of the night. Zuko was laying on the deck of the ship on a bedroll, staring up at the stars and gritting his teeth as he listened to his uncle's loud snoring beside him._

_He picked his head up off of his hands, which were folded behind it, as he felt someone touch his ankle. He looked down the length of his body to see Jet crouched, his index finger pressed to his lips and a fresh piece of wheat poking out from the corner of his mouth._

_Zuko got to his feet and stayed low as he followed Jet, his swords resting in their sheath on his back. Jet had a pair of hook swords in his hands and as Zuko observed him, he could tell the weapons were an extension of his body and he had a lot of practice using them; he was a seasoned fighter._

_They reached a wall and Jet straightened to his full towering height before using one of his hook swords to find a hold above him. He hooked the other one up there too and placed one foot on the wall. Silently, he pulled himself up. Once he was up, he reached a hand down and Zuko stared at it for a brief moment before sighing and grasping his hand tightly._

_Once Zuko found his footing on the upper deck, he looked back to Jet, who may have held onto his hand perhaps a little _too_ long. It was then that he noticed two figures standing behind Jet who approached silently._

_Jet jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "These are my Freedom Fighters: Smellerbee and Longshot," he said, his voice hushed to keep from drawing attention. Zuko looked at the two figures who hovered nervously behind Jet._

_One of them spoke. "Hey." The voice was raspy and Zuko would admit that he wasn't sure if the person speaking was a male or a female. He guessed she was a girl, though, from her small frame._

_Deciding to be polite, he answered with: "Hello."_

_Jet turned to face his so-called 'Freedom Fighters'. "This is Li. He's gonna help us out tonight," he explained. With no further preamble, he beckoned to Zuko to follow him. He fell in step beside him as they made their way toward the captain's quarters. _

_Without any words spoken, Jet met Smellerbee's eyes and then she was slipping into the first room. Zuko moved to follow her but Jet held one of his hook swords in front of Zuko's chest. Zuko met his eyes and Jet simply shook his head._

_Moments later, Smellerbee's shaggy head of hair peeped out from the doorway. She disappeared just as quickly and then Longshot slipped in after her. Jet was hot on his heels and Zuko followed dutifully behind them. _

_It wasn't a large space so they had to remain perfectly quiet as they slipped down the short hallway and into the kitchen. There was a member of the crew at the sink across the room and Zuko watched as Smellerbee approached him from behind, her footsteps making absolutely no sound._

_Then, she was covering the man's eyes with a piece of cloth and suddenly Jet was beside her, hooking one of his swords around the man's ankle and causing him to fall. Smellerbee made quick work of tying the blindfold and following suit with a gag as Jet tied the man's hands behind his back._

_They left him on the floor and as Jet returned, Zuko gave him a 'look'. Jet shrugged his shoulders innocently. 'What?' he mouthed. Zuko rolled his eyes._

_Jet smirked and grabbed a couple sacks from a shelf. He tossed one to Zuko who caught it easily. Wordlessly, the four of them started packing up food into the sacks. Zuko could feel Jet sneaking furtive glances at him but he tried to ignore it as he tied a thin rope around the top of the sack. _

_With a final glance at the tied up man in the corner, he slipped out the door and followed Jet back to the lower deck._

* * *

><p><em>Despite his late night, Zuko - as always - rose with the sun. He spent several hours chatting grumpily with his uncle and practicing with his swords. It was noontime before he got around to eating and when he went to the table to get some of the 'liberated' food, he couldn't say he was surprised when Jet leaned casually on the table beside him.<em>

"_Hey, Li," he said, that same, stupid grin on his face._

_Zuko simply looked at him pointedly, not saying anything._

_This only caused Jet to chuckle. "So…" he started conversationally, "they say we should be in Ba Sing Se by tonight."_

_Zuko snorted. "Yeah, like they're ever right about that sort of thing," he commented snidely. Jet scoffed humorously at his response._

_Zuko quickly found out that Jet _loved _to talk. As Zuko ate in silence, Jet chatted on excitedly about everything and anything. Finally, as Zuko finished with his lunch, Jet changed the subject quickly once more. "So you wanna spar?" _

_Zuko looked over at him, his arched eyebrows inquisitive and the corner of his mouth turned up with a fresh stalk of grass between his lips. _Seriously, _thought Zuko,_ where the hell does he keep getting grass?

_Zuko tried to formulate the word 'no' but all that came out was a disgruntled, "Sure."_

_Jet's eyes lit up in pleasant surprise as he got to his feet and unclipped his hook swords from his belt. Zuko followed suit and drew his dao from their sheath. He walked several paces away from Jet, into a more open area on the large deck. Jet took his place across from him, grinning. "Don't go easy on me," said Jet, a taunting tone clearly coating his voice._

_Zuko scoffed. _Idiot,_ he thought. He stood poised and ready, slowly stepping to circle Jet, whose footsteps countered his own. Silence fell as the wind blew and a split moment later, Jet was rushing toward him, swords at his sides. Zuko watched those swords carefully as one came up, toward his face. He ducked quickly but then realized that's what Jet had intended him to do as his other sword reached for Zuko's legs._

_With a grunt, Zuko shifted his momentum and pushed forward, staying low and diving past Jet, rolling into a crouch behind him and then swinging out a sword for Jet's ankles. Jet jumped lithely and then Zuko was hurrying to his feet again._

_He turned abruptly to face him, raising his left sword immediately as one of Jet's came toward his face again. The clang of metal echoed off the waves of the ocean repeatedly. _

_Zuko remained completely focused and had a permanent scowl on his face but Jet remained ever-calm and lackadaisical, smirking and even chuckling as Zuko's sword sliced the stalk of grass in his mouth in half. _

_They continued like that for several minutes, both breathing heavily and sweating from the effort. Then, Zuko lunged forward, sweeping both of his swords towards Jet's torso. Jet nimbly let himself fall backward and moved quickly into a crouch to push the dull part of one sword into Zuko's shoulder, causing him to lose control of his momentum and stumble off balance. _

_The fallen Prince rolled into a crouch and with a shout, dove at Jet, who rolled casually away, laughing. Rage boiled up in the pit of Zuko's stomach as he lunged again but Jet evaded him once more. _

_Finally, Jet stood and Zuko followed, holding his swords crossed against Jet's neck. He didn't even notice that the crescent handle of Jet's sword was pressed clandestinely against his own throat. _

_Jet was still grinning, even as he felt Zuko's hot breath against his face. "Not bad, pretty boy," he commented. _

_Zuko gritted his teeth in frustration and opened his mouth to say something snide in response. _

_Jet, however, seized this opportunity by leaning forward and capturing Zuko's lips with his own. _

_Zuko's eyes grew wide and without thinking, he tightened his swords on Jet's neck and pulled abruptly away. _

_Golden eyes stared into the dark depths that glowed with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Feeling lost, Zuko turned and stormed away. _

_Jet stood leaning against the railing behind him, grinning as he took the half stalk of grass from his lips and tucked it back into his belt._


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it's taken me awhile to update! First appearances of Toph and Sokka in this chapter so hopefully that makes up for it!

**Chapter: **Five  
><strong>Title:<strong> Revelation  
><strong>Rating:<strong> Light M  
><strong>Warning:<strong> There is a somewhat gory bit that might squick a few people if you haven't got the strongest of stomachs. And bits of language.  
><strong>Chapter Summary:<strong> Azula visits Zuko and the rest of the Gaang makes an appearance! How will they react to the news about Katara?

* * *

><p>Azula reached Zuko's cell, waving away the guards posted at the door. "I wish to speak to my brother. Alone."<p>

"But Fire Lord, he is still unstable... He could snap again at any minute." A guard, clearly new to his job, took a protective step in front of the door. The other guard backed away, fearing the Fire Lord's wrath.

"Do you question my ability to defeat the prisoner? I've won once already, I think I can handle an inferior bender." She placed a hand on her hip. "Now leave, before I show you how I deal with people who doubt my superiority."

"Yes your Grace." He hung his head, bowing deeply before quickly following the other guard. Azula turned her attention to the door, smirking at the pitiful sight her brother made. With every breath he took, she could see his face scrunch up in pain.

She opened the door, shaking her head in disapproval. "ZuZu, you don't look so good." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Zuko picked his head up as the door opened. He had heard the muffled voices from outside his cell and knew that when he looked up he would be staring at his sister. She spoke but she still sounded muffled through the ringing in his ears.

He got the gist that she was mocking him though and he gathered as much gusto as he could to spit at her feet. "Get out of here, Azula," he rasped quietly.

"Where are your manners, _Prince_ Zuko? I only came to chat. How's my favorite prisoner?" she cooed.

Zuko shook his head, trying with great difficulty to get rid of the swimming feeling inside of it. "I don't have anything to say to you," he said, coughing from the rawness of his throat.

"Really? After everything I've done to you, you don't have even one hateful remark? I'm disappointed." She crossed her arms. "What happened to that resilient spirit?"

Zuko looked at the floor in silence. _Heh. Resilient spirit. Jet took it. You made sure of that, didn't you Azula? _"You're not worth it. You're not really worth much of anything actually," he said, trying to make his voice sound a bit stronger and less dry.

Her eyes lit up and her mouth turned upwards in an amused smirk. "Much better. You know, people urged me to kill you, but where is the fun in that? Crushing your pride was much more satisfying."

"You should've killed me, Azula..." Zuko said slowly. A small smirk crept across his lips. "If you had - well, if you do, I suppose - you'd be better off." He looked up at her then, a funny look in his eyes.

Azula raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

Zuko chuckled bitterly as he met her eyes. "Because I'm going to kill you," he said flatly, the same twisted grin still on his face.

"Is that so? And how do you plan on doing that exactly?" Her smirk mirrored his as she placed her hands on her hips.

Zuko shrugged. "I haven't decided yet. But I know it'll be extremely painful for you, sister dearest." He spit the words out at her, glaring up at her from where he sat on the cold stone floor. He was leaning forward slightly so his raw back was away from the harshness of the cell wall, his shackled hands resting in his lap idly.

"Looking forward to it, brother." She sneered. "Too bad you'll be in here for the rest of your miserable life." She leaned forward, eyes narrowed.

Zuko shrugged again, hissing as the movement sent a ripple of pain down his back. "Whatever you say, Azula... Whatever you say," he said. He didn't want to give her too much reason to be suspicious of him.

Azula straightened. "I would be much more gracious. I gave you your life. And I'm not totally unreasonable: I have a present for you. To reward you for your good behavior, I've arranged a meeting for you with your friends. You can start thanking me now."

_Good behavior? Yeah. Right. This has got to be some sort of joke. Azula always lies. _He scoffed audibly and looked back at his raw wrists. "Yeah well count me out. I'm still recovering from your last 'gift'. You could've at least tied a bow on him," Zuko said, obviously speaking about Jet with his voice layered with contempt.

"Fine, I'll just tell the Avatar you couldn't make it. I'm sure that Water Tribe boy wouldn't want to see you anyway. After all, you _are_ responsible for the death of his sister." Azula turned away from him.

"Don't you dare talk about her!" Zuko yelled, suddenly furious. He lurched forward onto his knees, only inches from his sister as his arms strained against the chains around his wrists. Pain flared up his spine and a burning feeling settled over his back but he gritted his teeth and ignored it.

"You're not in a position to tell me what to do, brother_._" She looked over her shoulder at him, looking down at his mangled form.

Zuko tugged threateningly on the chains again, causing them to rattle sickeningly. "Why? Cause you're afraid I'd kick your prissy ass, _Fire Lord_?" he growled, glaring at her through his messy black hair.

Azula crouched down beside him. "If you really wanted that death sentence, all you had to do was ask." She produced the key to the shackles from her robes. "If you actually want to fight me in your current condition, fine."

He glared into her eyes. "Are you going to ask for yours?" he asked, his voice deathly cold. He leaned forward more, his nose inches from hers. "Try me." He was unsure of why he was making these threats against his sister. He supposed they were fueled by the rage he felt bubbling up inside him, threatening to spill over and cause him to do something stupid. "Better yet," he said. "Go fight Aang. See how long you last against a twelve-year-old boy." He punctuated his words with a mockingly bitter laugh.

Azula was unimpressed by her brother's threats. Who was he to challenge her? She would destroy him. "Unlike you, ZuZu, I know how to pick my battles. You do bring up a very good point, though. Maybe I should kill the boy, before he has a chance to fight back." She shrugged, the annoyingly smug smirk on her face.

"And that's where you differ from the rest of humanity - you have none. How many more people have to die because of you? The soldiers weren't enough? Katara? Uncle?" he accused. He took a long pause, meeting her eyes and reflected in his own could have been something other than hatred, even if for just a moment. "...Dad? How many more people have to die because of your insatiable need to rule? Who else will it be? Aang? Me? Mai? Ty Lee?" He was hoping she had enough of a heart that his words would get through to her but unfortunately, he doubted that very much.

Azula was silent. For one brief moment, her eyes softened and her smug expression faded. Then, as quickly as it happened, her features hardened again. "I do what I need to. I won't allow anyone to stand in my way." Her voice was flat, her face void of any emotion. She straightened, rising to her feet. "Do you want to see your friends or not?" She crossed her arms as she quickly changed the subject.

Zuko sighed, letting his head fall again as Azula broke eye contact. He had seen it. For a brief moment, his words had penetrated the thick shell she had built around herself. _Good. She can actually feel. That means she can be broken. _Feeling exhausted, he sat back on his heels again, letting his hands rest against his thighs. "Yes," he said, too tired and pained to argue with her anymore.

Azula watched her brother hang his head, seeming to surrender. _Was it that easy to crack him now? He's weaker than I thought. _She smirked as he sat back. Nodding contentedly, she held out her hand. "Good. Give me your hand. They're waiting for you." She held up the key.

Zuko held up his left hand first and clenched it into a tight fist as Azula bent at the waist to unlock the cuff. He gave her his other hand and her hand rested around his forearm. He looked at her hands rather than her face and as the chains fell away, he began to rub at his raw wrists. He hissed at the sting this caused but rubbed away the soreness anyway.

Azula backed away as the chains fell to the ground. She took great pleasure in watching Zuko try to ease the pain the shackles had caused. "How's your back? Jet has been dying for another round." She prodded, half hoping he would take the bait. It would be nice to get some sparring practice in.

Zuko clenched his jaw tightly as he had done with his fists. With a strangled grunt, he pushed himself up and at his sister, pressing his forearm tightly against her throat and shoving her hard against the cell wall. "Don't you fucking talk to me about Jet," he bit out. There was something in his eyes, underneath the anger, that was hard to pinpoint.

Azula raised an eyebrow, her eyes lit with amusement. "Did I bring up a sore subject? I'm so sorry ZuZu," she said, sarcasm dripping from every word. She sent a small blast of fire at him, just enough to offset his balance. She lunged for him, sending him to the opposite wall.

His eyes widened, he took a half step backwards as fire flared between them. Then the heel of Azula's hand hit his chest hard and he stumbled back against the far wall. A grunt passed between his lips as the cold metal of the wall dug into his raw, burned back. He shoved away from the wall angrily and he felt his chi automatically rush into his fingertips. "Leave Jet out of this," he said coldly. "Just take me to see Aang."

Azula sighed and rolled her eyes. "You take the fun out of everything. But I guess I can spare your feelings. For now." There was laughter in her voice. "There's just one tiny requirement." She dug through her robes and produced several small metal contraptions.

Zuko stepped closer to Azula and peered into her hand. She held out her other hand and said, "Give me your hand." Zuko raised his eyes to her face and studied her carefully. He definitely didn't trust her one bit. But he knew he had to see Aang so he hesitantly raised his right hand and held it out, palm up. Azula sighed, growing impatient as she snatched his hand.

"I'd brace yourself, brother. This might hurt a little bit," she said carelessly. With no further warning, took one of the small metal instruments and punctured the skin on the side of his wrist. He hissed softly and watched as blood seeped from his already reddened wrists. "Bite your tongue, I'm not done," she said. His eye widened and with quick movements of her wrist, Azula twisted the piece of metal further into his wrist until the tip of it was digging into his bone. He clenched his teeth tightly and screamed through his teeth.

Azula looked up and met his eyes. "Don't worry, brother, there's only seven more."

Zuko curled his lip and growled at her. "I think I need to sit down," he said through his tightly clenched teeth. _Why am I letting her do this? _he thought to himself. He knew he had to see Aang but this was almost unbearable.

"Fine then, you baby. Sit," Azula said, gesturing to the floor. Zuko sat himself down and took a deep breath as Azula crouched beside him.

She repeated the process with the other side of his wrist. He gritted his teeth and bit his lip throughout. When he looked at his wrist, which was now covered in blood at various stages of drying, he could see the two metal protrusions. That's when he began to feel...off.

The next wrist was even more excruciating and Zuko couldn't help but feel the desire to wrap his hands around his sister's neck.

He was breathing heavily with his eyes closed when he first began to understand what was happening. He was feeling colder and colder. _It's...my chi. It's been...slowed._

He looked at his wrist and flexed his fingers, grumbling as he felt the metal inside him rub against his bones. He counted four in his wrists and then thought, _Didn't she say there were eight?_

The next thing he knew, his sister was rolling up one of his pant legs. His eyes widened and he bit the back of his hand just as a scream tore itself from his chest.

Minutes and a raw throat later, Zuko's ankles were just as bloody and painful as his wrists. Azula had stood and was smirking down at him. She held out her hand.

"Come on, brother. Get up."

He glared at her hand and stood up shakily on his own. She rolled her eyes at his show of pride and placed her hands on her hips, waiting for him to steady himself.

Standing caused the metal instruments to rub painfully against the bones in his ankles but he ignored it as he focused on the icy feeling in the pit of his stomach. _My chi... It's been blocked. Completely._

"What are these things?" he demanded of her.

She smiled. "They'll just keep you from bending. Wouldn't want another...incident, now would we?" She turned and knocked on the door. It was unlocked and slid open. She beckoned to her brother as she stepped out of the cell.

Zuko hung his head and took a deep breath. _Now what?_

* * *

><p>"You're lucky these things keep me from bending because I would crack your skulls together so fast!" A young girl was shouting at the retreating forms of the prison guards as they walked away, leaving her in the nearly empty courtyard.<p>

"Toph? Is that you?"

Toph turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Then, with a precision no blind person had any right possessing, she was running full-speed toward the owner of the voice.

"Snoozles!" she shouted as she flung her arms around Sokka's midsection.

"It's good to see you too," he chuckled, returning the embrace.

Toph reluctantly stepped away from Sokka and crossed her arms, steadying her wide stance. For a small girl, she really did create one hell of a presence in a room.

"Have you seen the others at all?" she asked. Before joining the Gaang, Toph had never had many friends so being torn apart from the only people she really cared about had had somewhat of a crushing effect on her.

"No, I haven't... but we'll find them; I just need to get us out of here," he said, determinedly.

Toph rolled her eyes from under her bangs. While she appreciated Sokka's sense of perseverance, especially at times like these, he was almost _too_ sure of himself sometimes. As he went to speak again, Toph slapped her hand against his mouth. "Shush. Someone's coming," she said, straining to listen and feel. A moment later her face lit up. "Twinkletoes, that's gotta be you!" she called.

With an 'oof,' Aang stumbled into the courtyard, having been pushed between the shoulder blades by one of the guards. "Toph! Sokka!" He ran over to them, throwing his arms around them. "Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine. Have you heard from the Sugar Queen?" Toph asked, disentangling herself from Aang's wiry arms and taking a single step away. She was beginning to perk up now that she was around her friends. "Actually, if things are as they seem to be, we should probably see her soon; they're putting us all together," she commented as she realized it.

"My question is why? Why reunite Team Avatar? It seems like a pretty bad plan to me." Sokka stroked his bottom lip as he thought.

Toph thought on that for a moment. He was right. It was a bad idea to let them all be together. "Maybe she wants to rub it in our faces that even together we can't escape. I mean, that's still stupid, duh, but maybe that's what she thinks."

"Who cares? I'm just happy to see you guys again." Aang let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried she'd break her promise."

Toph's interest peaked on his comment. "What do you mean, 'break her promise'? She promised you something?" she asked curiously.

Aang shifted his weight nervously. "She threatened you. I tried to stop her, but lives were at stake. So I gave myself up, so you guys would be safe. No one was supposed to get hurt. But she lied." A tear rolled down his cheek.

"Aang, we're at war. People are bound to get hurt," said Sokka, resting one hand on Aang's shoulder.

Toph shook her head. "It's more than that. Who was it, Twinkletoes?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically warm.

Aang cleared his throat. "It was Iroh... I couldn't stop her, and he's dead because of me." He was quiet, barely whispering.

"No, Aang...it wasn't your fault." Sokka tried to reassure him.

Toph wanted to reassure him too, but she was still stuck on the fact that Iroh was dead and Azula had killed him. She may have only met Iroh a few times, but he was a kind-hearted man who cared a lot about his nephew and the well-being of others. He didn't deserve to die. She didn't even notice that her fists had become tightly clenched and her entire form trembled with anger. "Don't worry, Aang. She'll pay. She'll pay for everything she's done. We'll make sure of it," said Toph, her voice low and deadly.

Just then, she sensed more familiar footsteps. Her anger vanished as quickly as it appeared and again, she was running toward someone.

Zuko grunted and then hissed as pain tore through his back. "Sparky!" Toph shouted as she wrapped her small arms around him. She could feel the skin of his chest against her cheek. She pulled back abruptly and 'looked' at him accusingly. "Are you naked?!"

Zuko choked at her accusation. "No!" he said defensively. "Sorry my back hasn't healed enough for me to put a shirt on," he scoffed. He then turned his attention to Aang and Sokka. "Hey guys," he said.

"Glad you could make it, buddy." Sokka winced at the sight of Zuko's back. "That looks awful."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Yes, thank you for pointing that out. Because I couldn't tell on my own," he said snidely, scowling at Sokka.

"How are you?" Aang's voice was quiet and serious and it cut through their friendly banter like a cold knife.

Zuko shifted his attention abruptly as he heard Aang speak. He sobered quickly. "I...I've been better," he said, reaching to rub a hand across the back of his neck. He winced as he touched an unhealed burn and then spoke again. "Maybe we should sit and fill each other in on what's been going on," he suggested.

Toph listened carefully as Zuko moved and she could tell he was in a lot of pain. He also seemed...defeated. He seemed down in a way she'd never seen him before and it was a little unnerving. Nonetheless, she took a seat beside him, keeping her feet on the floor and her knees bent, leaning back and placing her palms flat on the floor as well. She could 'see' a lot better this way anyway.

"I might as well go first. I don't have much to tell you guys. Sokka can fill you in on battle details but basically, all the earthbenders and foot soldiers were rounded up. They singled me out and brought me here." She shrugged. "That's all I got."

Sokka sat up straight while recounting his tale. "So after we split up, we had this great plan, right? So my dad and I took the waterbenders to the shorelines, figuring we'd have the advantage. But there was no one around. So we closed in on the city, but we were ambushed. I wanted to fight, but my dad knew better. So we surrendered, saving the fight for another day. But when we were loading up, they took Dad and I away from the others. I haven't seen him since." Once he was finished, he slouched back, signaling to Aang with a nod.

"Well...I did it. I defeated Ozai. It's hard to believe that even after destroying all of that bad, there's still so much worse. Then I went looking for all of you, but you were missing. I tried every day, until I found Zuko." His eyes brimmed with tears. "I'm so sorry Zuko, I should have been able to stop her."

Zuko couldn't meet Aang's eyes. Not while the kid was about to cry. He tried to speak but no words came out. He cleared his throat roughly and tried again. "It's okay. It's not your fault she's a heartless bitch," he said, looking down at his hands which were clasped in front of him.

Toph could feel his heartbeat quicken and heard him lick his lips anxiously. _There's something he doesn't want to tell us, _she thought, but kindly kept it to herself for now. She figured she'd give him a chance to spit it out on his own.

"I...I'm gonna start backwards," Zuko began. There were a couple mumbled noises of acceptance of that before he continued. "So today Azula came to see me and I basically told her I was gonna kill her. And then she put these stupid things in my wrists and ankles and brought me here. But yesterday - wow, it was only yesterday. So yesterday morning, I was feeling really lost and I didn't know what to do. So I lashed out at the guards and I may have severely injured some guy, I don't really know. All I know is that Azula had me tied to a post and sentenced to fifty lashes. But get this: Jet was the one holding the whip. You guys remember Jet right?" Zuko was speaking quickly, rambling as though he didn't want to talk about any of this. And Toph noticed his heart flutter even more frantically as he spoke of Jet.

"Anyway, the day before that - or maybe it was a few days before - I..." He slowed now, becoming more serious. "I was supposed to die." He picked his head up then and met Sokka's eyes. "I don't know if you know already but Azula sentenced my uncle and I to death. I would be dead now if Aang hadn't showed up and surrendered himself for my life." He hung his head again and then pressed on. "The day before _that_ was the day of the invasion. As you all know, I lost my Agni Kai with Azula. Ty Lee showed up and threw me off guard. I was stupid and sloppy and it's my fault we're all here," he said, his voice thick with regret.

"Don't blame yourself Zuko, it's not your fault Azula had help. She practically cheated. There was nothing you could do." Aang shrugged sympathetically.

Silence fell over the group and to Toph, the only audible sound was their breathing and Zuko's racing heartbeat. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer. "What aren't you telling us?" she asked, her tone more curious than accusatory.

Toph felt Zuko's heart skip a beat and then it started thrumming so hard she thought it might actually burst from his chest. He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat.

"I-I... I told her to go away! I tried to make her leave!" His voice was growing louder and more panicked. "I-I ran, I swear, I ran but I-I wasn't fast enough. I tried - I did - I tried _so hard._" Silence fell. "...But it wasn't enough."

Toph's eyes widened as she understood what he was telling them. She quickly shifted her attention to Aang and Sokka to make sure they would both understand.

"Buddy, slow down. Breathe. Who? Who did you try to save?" Sokka asked as he placed a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder.

Toph felt Zuko draw a ragged breath and then exhale, shuddering. She knew his answer before he lifted his head to meet Sokka's eyes. Zuko's eyes were filled with water. "Katara," he said, his voice hardly making a sound.

Aang's jaw dropped."No...No! You're lying. Please tell me this is some sick joke. Not Katara...It can't be true... she can't be..." He wrapped his arms around his knees as sobs overcame his body.

Toph could feel Aang's body be shaken by sobs, could feel Sokka hold his breath and could feel Zuko slip into panic mode. "I told her to go away! I told her it was too dangerous! She was so stubborn; she just wouldn't listen! She never even saw it coming," said Zuko, his voice dropping as he hung his head once more.

Sokka was silent. His eyes were screwed shut as he tried not to cry. Suddenly, he exploded. "How could you let this happen? You said you would 'handle' Azula. You call letting her kill my baby sister 'handling' her?!" His voice had been raised, but it dropped when he spoke again. "It may not be your fault you lost, but it's your fault she's dead. Couldn't you do something? Firebend? Push her out of the way? Anything?!" He was shouting and Toph flinched from the anger in his voice. Suddenly, his voice dropped low. "I'll never forgive you for this, Zuko."

Toph could sense Zuko shaking and she had a feeling that soon, like a volcano, he would erupt. He'd been trying to tame his anger since joining the Gaang but his temper was something that would always follow him, she knew.

Her suspicions proved to be true as he exploded from where he sat, throwing his hands down, away from his face which was now contorted in pain and anger.

"I know, alright! I know that! You think I haven't beaten myself up about it?! You think I don't blame myself?! You think I watched Katara die and felt nothing?! You think I didn't try to stop Azula?! I know, okay?! I know it's my fault! Everything's my fault! Katara, Uncle, all of you in prison! It's my fault Azula's the Fire Lord, it's my fault Jet's so fucked up and it's my fault the world has gone to shit! I know that and I'm sorry, okay?!" He had been shouting but silence fell again. Aang had quieted his sobs and picked his head up to watch Zuko's eruption. Sokka stared at him stoically as he slumped back into his seated position. "...I'm sorry," said Zuko, his voice cracking as he sat back on his heels, his hands clenched tightly as they rested on his thighs. His shoulders were hunched and his head bowed as a single tear tread a lonely path down his cheek.

Toph could feel his body shaking and wordlessly, she covered one of his clenched fists with a calloused hand.

Aang wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He shook his head vigorously. "No." His voice was low. "No. This isn't what she would have wanted. It's not your fault. You tried your best, Zuko. Katara knew the risks. We have to stay together. We have to stop her. We have to end this war. For Katara."

Sokka, who had been eerily silent, finally spoke. "For my sister." His eyes were shining with cold determination.

Toph nodded her head. "The Sugar Queen wouldn't want us to be fighting like this. And it's the sole reason Azula put us together - so we could tear each other apart," she said, patting Zuko's still closed fist before retracting her hand.

Zuko wiped angrily at the wet track on his face before running a hand through his hair. "We have to get out of here. For Katara. We have to avenge her," he said, his tone dark and solemn.

Sokka met Zuko's eyes again and finally he held out his hand. Zuko looked at him for a moment that seemed like an eternity before grasping his forearm - the traditional handshake of the Water Tribe. Beside them, Aang wiped his face on his sleeve one last time.

"Alright Sokka," said Toph, "You're the plan guy. What's the plan?"

Sokka clapped his hands together, an idea formulating in his mind. "Okay, bear with me for a minute. So the first thing we need to do is get Azula out of our hair. Then when she isn't looking, I'll unscrew your weird non-bendy things and then BAM. We fight right through the front doors." He smashed his fist into his palm for emphasis.

Zuko shook his head immediately. "Won't work. There's no way she'll take her eye off us for that to happen. Plus, we'd never be able to fight our way out. Not with her, Ty Lee, Mai and Jet all around. They all know how we fight. Plus she has firebenders galore and the Dai Li. We'd be dead," he said simply.

Sokka frowned. "Well do any of you have a better idea?" He looked toward Zuko accusingly. "These are your people we're talking about."

Zuko made grasping gestures with his hands as though he were trying to pull ideas out of the thin air. But nothing came to him. "I don't know. I was kind of hinging on the fact you'd have another stroke of genius like you did at the Boiling Rock," he said sheepishly.

"Well, what if we did something like that? You used to live at the palace, Zuko; are there any secret passageways? Maybe we could use enough force to get there and then use stealth to slip out," said Toph.

Once again, Zuko shook his head. "I'm not sure. I haven't been here for years. I'd still remember the palace but this is prison. I can't say I've spent much time here," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Aang looked around, ideas formulating in his brain. "Uhh, what if we waited for Azula, or someone she might actually care about, then we grab them and hold them hostage or something... Then we could walk out the door and they couldn't stop us."

For a third time, Zuko's head was shaking. "No. You guys can't keep underestimating her. She's always a step ahead and she's too ruthless. She won't care about anyone you take and she's too smart to be taken herself. Besides, how are you planning on kidnapping someone from inside a prison cell?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

They sat that way - silently - for awhile. Each seemed to be lost in thought, trying to cook up a worthy plan, but none seemed to reach a good enough conclusion.

Finally, Zuko heaved a sigh. "Shit," he said. "We're gonna need inside help."

Three faces turned toward him with looks of dismay plastered on.


	6. Chapter 6

Ugh, I stink, I know. I got super busy with our competition play but we're done with that now so I finally finished up chapter six. :) Although I admit, this is not where I had planned on ending this chapter. xD I just wanted to give you guys a little something because I haven't in a while.

**Chapter:** Six  
><strong>Title:<strong> Prison Walls  
><strong>Rating:<strong> K+  
><strong>Warning:<strong> Another chapter that I don't think really needs one. But again, tell me if I'm wrong on this or my rating.  
><strong>Chapter Summary:<strong> Zuko is visited in his cell and the Gaang has some more trouble as they try to bust out of prison.

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><p>Zuko wasn't the type of person who slept heavily or long. Maybe it was the years of restless sleep with nothing but the ocean beneath him; or perhaps it was the ever-present paranoia he had grown into as he aged. These prospects were now coupled with horrific, haunting nightmares, and he found himself awake well into the small hours of the morning, staring up into the darkness above his hard cot. One hand was tucked carefully behind his head and the other rested nonchalantly on his stomach. He was completely still.<p>

To the unobservant passerby, he would seem completely relaxed and at ease but in all reality, every muscle in his body was tense and ready. His back stung and his muscles ached in a dull throb as he lay there but he couldn't seem to relax even fractionally, no matter how much he tried.

His mind was racing with thoughts. Mainly, it dug up the facts that weighed on Zuko's conscience and laid them bare, fueling the growing expanse of his guilt.

Katara's scream rang through his ears. He flinched. Uncle's gruff voice as he sang resonated through him. His stomach churned. Jet's low, venomous words ate at his heart. He clenched his jaw so tightly he thought his teeth would shatter in his mouth. His eyes pinched shut hard enough to make them water. His hand on his stomach curled into a tight fist.

_Never again... _he promised himself silently. _I'm not going to lose anyone ever again... I don't think I could handle it. _His thoughts spiraled into a weary hole that filled to the brim with dismay and contempt. Drowning, he decided; it felt like he was drowning in the negativity plaguing his mind.

Without any warning, Zuko was hurriedly sitting up. The sudden movement caused a slicing pain to rip through his back but other than a faint hiss leaking from his lips, he ignored it. He held his breath and for the briefest of moments he thought that maybe he was wrong, maybe he was just being paranoid.

But then he heard them. Footsteps. Light, careful, but definitely noticeable to his trained ears. _Maybe they're not here for me,_ he thought. He realized almost immediately how ludicrous that thought seemed. Who else would have visiters this late in the night? His mind quickly began trying to decide whether they were likely to be friendly footsteps or just a new way for Azula to attempt to break him down even more.

He settled on the latter, considering his luck had never really been that good, and prepared himself for the new world of pain he was convinced he was about to be thrown into.

He rose slowly as his fingers curled tightly into his palms and he raised his chin in defiance as two shadowy figures became defined outside the bars of the small window in the cell door.

As one of the figures jingled a set of keys, Zuko automatically assumed a fighting position. His wounds stretched and re-opened but he ignored them, at least having the sense to hold his fists in front of himself defensively, rather than in a firebending stance.

The door began to slide open with a soft creak and Zuko's shoulders tensed uncomfortably as his jaw locked. He surprised himself by feeling a ball of nerves knot up in his stomach.

There was only one thin figure silhouetted against the dim light filtering into the room and as that figure approached, small, gloved hands reached to cover Zuko's fists, lowering them gently.

The banished prince was too shocked to do anything but drop his arms and stand there with his mouth open, eyes blinking while they tried to adjust to the dim light to see. Finally, he could comprehend the figure standing before him.

"...Mai?" he rasped quietly.

A soft "shh" sound came from the girl before him as she stepped closer. "Yes, it's me," she answered, her voice hard to hear from her hushed tone. She opened her mouth to speak again but Zuko's words ran over hers before she had the chance to get them out.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were still at the Boiling Rock. How did you get out? Are you alright? Is Azula after you? Does she know you're here?" His voice adopted a panic-stricken tone as he worried over her.

She shushed him again, placing her hands on his shoulders with care. "Calm down. Everything's fine. Why don't you just sit down?" she suggested lightly.

Grimacing, Zuko let her ease him over to his cot so he could sit down with hunched shoulders, trying to mask the pain that the movement caused. "Will you just answer my questions?" he asked sourly, feeling frustrated with how she was coddling him.

Mai rolled her eyes in the darkness as she moved to kneel in front of him. "Ty Lee got me out of the Boiling Rock. It took a little lying and a little acting but I've been pardoned so no, Azula's not after me and no, she doesn't know I'm here. And I'm _fine_. I've mostly been worried about you." Her usual monotonous tone had soften slightly at the end as she placed one soothing hand on Zuko's knee.

Zuko leaned on his elbows, his head slightly hung as he looked down away from Mai's face. "I'm alright," he murmured, not knowing exactly how truthful he was being with her or himself. He thought on it for a long moment and he could feel her stare as she waited for him to reach an internal conclusion. He took a deep breath and let it out in a harsh rush of air. "Okay, so maybe I'm not," he said sheepishly. He ran a hand through his hair in a desperate gesture. "Everything has fallen apart. Nothing is going right. I need to fix it but I don't know how!" His voice had risen again and Mai hurriedly raised her hands to his forearms.

"Shh, keep your voice down," she reprimanded before softening again. "It's going to be okay, Zuko. I promise. I came here to talk to you about something really important." She paused and reached up to touch his face, startling him into meeting her eyes. "We're getting you out of here. Tomorrow. A few of the guards here worked for my uncle at the Boiling Rock and were transferred when he was discharged. I talked to their captain - his name is Sheng - and he said they would help me get you out of here."

He pulled back in shock, moving away from the touch of her delicate hand. "What?" he said quietly. He shook his head almost immediately. "No. No, you can't. I can't leave without Aang. And Sokka and Toph for that matter," he said adamantly.

Mai rolled her eyes again. "Well, yeah. I meant the four of you. No offense, Zuko, but I don't think you could take your sister single-handedly. You'll need the Avatar's help if you're going to fix the Fire Nation," she said firmly, rising up onto her knees to reach for his face again.

Moving deftly to the side, he caught her wrist in his fingers. He saw her expression fall slightly, but his face wasn't a place he liked to be touched. He met her gaze with a darkly serious one of his own. "I will, you know. I'll fix the Fire Nation. I swear it."

Mai heaved a sigh as she removed her wrist from his light grasp. "I know you will, Zuko. I believe in you." Her voice was very quiet and for several long moments, Zuko wasn't even sure she had spoken at all, but then those long moments passed and Mai was pressing onward once again. "Tomorrow, after you go to the cafeteria for lunch, go out into the yard. There will be a distraction and then Sheng will grab you guys and lead you out. Make sure you find Aang, Sokka and Toph in the yard as soon as you can." She took one of Zuko's tense hands and held it between her own. "And you take care of yourself, Zuko. You're the hope of the Fire Nation now. Not everyone out there supports Azula, you know. Your people have faith in you… And so do I." She took his hand and raised it to her lips, pressing them lightly against his knuckles before letting go and moving to stand.

Zuko rushed forward onto his knees to wrap her in his arms. His face buried in her hair, he mumbled, "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means Mai." Taking a deep breath, he pulled back to meet her eyes once more. "And… I'm sorry. Maybe… Maybe someday I'll be able to…" he trailed off, unable to articulate what he meant.

But Mai had always been good at discerning what Zuko wanted to say and she forced a transparent smile anyway. "It's okay, Zuko. I understand." He felt obligated to force a smile of his own, but it ended up feeling more like a grimace and gave up as soon as he tried. "I'm out of time. I'm going to stay here with Azula and Ty Lee. If there's anything I can do, any information I can get to you, I'll try my best. Good luck, Zuko and…goodbye."

Zuko felt a sick dread creep into him as he heard that word. _I told myself I wouldn't lose anyone else. _He clenched his teeth and made himself a promise that this loss wouldn't be permanent. Closing his eyes tightly, he leaned forward and found her lips with his in a heated kiss. After a moment, Zuko pulled back and rested his forehead against hers as he whispered, "Goodbye."

And as she rested her hand on his cheek again, he simply closed his eyes. Then he heard the door open, shut and lock. And when he opened his eyes, he was alone with the darkness and his thoughts once more, hoping it hadn't all been a dream.

* * *

><p>The next morning came too quickly for Zuko. He felt the traitorous bundle of nerves make its home in the pit of his stomach again as he woke. He felt the sun rise despite the darkness that still filled most of his cell. He forced his aching body up on the cot and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees.<p>

_Spirits, I hope this works. I trust Mai, really, I do. But I don't know about these guards that are such a vital piece of this plan. Mai said that the people of the Fire Nation - __**my**__ people - still have faith in me. I think it's about time I start having faith in myself._

A deep breath filled his lungs and was let out slowly from between his teeth as he dropped his face into his hands.

* * *

><p>The guards came early. After Azula introduced her fancy little inventions that took away people's bending, Zuko guessed she didn't think he, or even the Avatar, would be a threat anymore. Not that he was complaining. As a result, he got to eat lunch with the other prisoners. And that meant with Aang, Sokka and Toph.<p>

Zuko seated himself down at the end of the table and took a moment to consider whether he should feel amused or annoyed at the fact that everyone at the table rose and moved away. He shrugged, deciding on neither as he placed his tray on the table. As he stared down at the "food" (he thought it to be more of a pile of shit than anything else, but really, what did he expect?), he heaved a sigh. His wounds hadn't healed much but the nurse in the infirmary was able to cover them in some sort of salve and then wrap them. He felt he looked pretty stupid covered in white gauze from his waist to his neck but at least the prison shirt covered most of his bandages.

He had one elbow on the table, cheek smushed into his palm and other hand poking his food with a fork when he felt someone slap him amicably on the back. On instinct, he arched away from the pain and hissed lowly through his teeth, preparing to stand and punch whoever dared to touch him.

But just as his muscles tensed, he heard, "Ooh, sorry buddy! I forgot!" spill sheepishly from Sokka's mouth. Zuko growled and focused on relaxing his shoulders as he turned back around and took a deep breath through his nose. Steam flooded out of his mouth as he exhaled, a supplement that paled in comparison to the fire that normally held its place.

"Don't worry about it," he managed to grind out as Sokka settled in beside him on the bench, already stuffing "food" in his face.

"So Azhula'sh pretty shtoopid, letting ush eat togeshur, rye?" he rambled, mouth full of food. Zuko turned slowly to glare at him viciously from beside him. "Shorry," Sokka said as he proceeded to chew and swallow. He opened his mouth to speak again but his companion elbowed him harshly in the ribcage.

"Would you shut up? It's not like we don't receive enough attention as it is," he said coldly. Sokka rubbed his violated ribcage with a pout on his lips. Zuko glanced warily around himself before continuing. "Besides, we shouldn't be having this conversation. Not here."

Sokka was about to launch into some self-righteous defense of his actions, but he was halted as his face was smashed into his plate of food. Zuko's brow furrowed, but his confusion was swept away as Toph's loud laughter sounded from behind the two of them.

"Wow, Snoozles, that was too easy!" she said as she walked and sat across from Zuko at their table. She slid onto the bench with more swagger than anyone Zuko had ever seen. He turned his gaze back to Sokka who was picking his face up in shame and then wiped his hand over said face before proceeding to metaphorically explode at the earthbender.

"Really, Toph?! We're in prison! Try to have some decency!" he yelled. "This isn't the time for jokes and games!" he scolded.

Toph simply shrugged, completely unfazed by Sokka's words. "You gotta enjoy the little things in life," she said nonchalantly, and then added, "Right Sparky?" as she kicked Zuko in the shin under the table.

The firebender grunted noncommittally as he clenched his teeth to keep from saying anything rude to the bold girl in front of him. He decided instead to run a hand through his hair in a desperate gesture, turning to survey the room again. _Where the hell is Aang?_ he thought absently. Zuko sat through several more minutes of Toph and Sokka's bickering before the young Avatar came into the room. He looked a little worse for wear and Zuko could understand that.

As he sat down next to Toph, she and Sokka both sobered up quickly and resigned themselves to a placid silence. Upon closer inspection, Zuko saw that the Avatar's normally expressive eyes were droopy and there were dark circles under them.

The three of them resigned themselves to staring at him though he wouldn't meet any of their gazes. Long moments passed before Aang finally spoke. "I'm fine. You can all stop staring at me," he mumbled, still not lifting his eyes from the tray in front of him.

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck absently while Toph drummed her fingers on the table. Zuko himself sat in a stony silence as the minutes ticked on. None of them really ate much and when they normally would've been chattering, they remained entirely quiet until the loud buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the lunch period.

Zuko rose and as his friends started to turn toward the door that would lead them back to their cells, he placed his hand gently on Sokka's back and turned him away. Noticing this, Toph and Aang also followed Zuko as he led them out to the yard. "Uh...Sparky? Why are we going out to the yard? People here hate us; they're gonna kick the snot out of us," Toph commented.

"Just trust me," Zuko answered in a low tone.

"Okay... But if we get killed I swear I'll haunt you," she replied. Zuko was tempted to explain to her how little sense that actually made but instead he simply sighed heavily and continued out into the yard.

It was the first time any of them had been out there and Zuko could imagine why this was the pivotal point of their escape. It was _vast_. While that would seem like it was going to work in his favor, it was proving to be the current obstacle in Zuko's mind.

_I don't even know what this Sheng guy looks like! Nevermind what his plans are…This is beginning to seem like a bad idea…_

But Zuko hardly had any time to worry. Suddenly, all of the prisoners and guards were rushing towards the far side of the yard. Sokka started to follow them, unable to contain his curious nature, but Zuko grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Sokka was about to argue with him but when he saw the fiery look in Zuko's eyes and stopped himself. "What's going on, Zuko?" he asked instead.

Zuko looked around, trying to think of the best way to answer. Mai had been right; the entire place was thrown into chaos. People were rushing everywhere, fights were breaking out, guards were assaulting prisoners. It was absolute _madness_.

Just as Zuko opened his mouth to begin formulating his response to Sokka, a man approached the four of them. "Prince Zuko, Avatar Aang, please come with me."

Zuko stepped in front of his friends and raised his chin. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Sheng. Mai sent me. We're here to get you out but we don't have a lot of time so please, follow me," he said hurriedly.

Zuko looked at him for a long moment and then looked to his friends, who were awaiting his decision. How he'd been silently elected in charge of that, he'll never know. He looked back at Sheng for a moment and it was his trust in Mai that led him to say, "Okay guys, let's go."

Sheng seemed relieved and then pointed along the poop wall, where the high fence became a gate. "Go that way. There's a woman there named Lin. She'll take you the next leg of the way. Once the ruckus dies down over there, I'll report to the Warden you're missing."

"What?! Why?!" Sokka said, panicking.

"So Mai and her Uncle's followers don't come under suspicion," Zuko answered for Sheng, knowing exactly how politics would have to work. Mai gets released and then Zuko escapes? Azula would draw that conclusion very quickly if they didn't at least try to cover their tracks.

Sheng sent him an appreciative look, for understanding. Zuko nodded in response and motioned for Aang, Sokka and Toph to head off. The three of them took off running and Zuko turned to Sheng, grasping his shoulder. "Thank you, Sheng. I will repay you for this, I swear," he said.

Sheng smiled. "Don't worry about that, Prince Zuko. I do this because I believe it's what's best for not only the Fire Nation but the whole world."

Zuko looked at him for what seemed like a long moment, truly grateful, before running off after his friends.

* * *

><p>The middle section of their escape is a blur in Zuko's memory. When they reached Lin, she was all business. She sent them off to the next checkpoint, outside the walls of the palace, as quickly as possible. It was there they met a man named Xi Quan. Xi was much more laid-back about the whole thing and laughed and joked through his section of the escape. It was his job to remove the metal instruments that kept them from bending, which he had been trained to do as efficiently as possible, meaning in such a way that would cause the least amount of pain. With bandaged wrists and ankles, the foursome was off again, heading out to the edge of the capital.<p>

"Wait!" Aang shouted suddenly, skidding to a halt.

"What?! What do you mean 'wait'?! We're running for our lives, Aang!" Sokka shrieked back. Toph and Zuko stopped and looked at Aang as well, waiting for him to explain himself as they panted, trying to catch their breath.

"We can't leave here without Appa!" he exclaimed.

Zuko clenched his teeth. As much as he'd hate to leave the furry beast behind, they didn't have time for this type of delay, not if they wanted to actually escape with their lives. "Aang, there's no time to search for him," he said.

"Do you have your whistle on you?" Sokka asked.

Aang shook his head. "You guys go on ahead. I'm not leaving without Appa." Without another word, he took off to the north.

"Aang, wait!" Zuko shouted after him. Cursing under his breath, he turned to his other two companions. "Sokka, Toph, keep going. I'll go after Aang. Get to the next checkpoint but don't wait any longer than five minutes for us." Sokka opened his mouth to argue. "I said, go!" Zuko shouted.

The two of them hesitated a moment longer before taking off in the opposite direction. Zuko briefly watched them go before turning and running off after Aang.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm going to try to finish the Soul Eater fic I'm working on during the week and then I'll try to get chapter seven up over the weekend.


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